Sen. Ben Cardin gives out inauguration tickets, I don't get one

January 7, 3:13 PMDC Tourism & Travel ExaminerBen Shlesinger

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I have always been a fan of Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD). For one thing, a college professor of mine used to work for him. Second, his name is Ben, as is mine. I'm easy to please. But Senator Cardin is playing a little loose with my blind loyalty. I just got an e-mail from him saying I was not chosen out of a lottery for his allotment of inauguration tickets. How dare he. The crushing e-mail he sent is below.

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Dear  Ben:
 
Thank you for contacting my office about your interest in attending the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44 th President of the United States.

As you may have heard, my office was overwhelmed with requests for a very limited number of Inaugural Swearing-in Ceremony tickets. Over 60,000 Marylanders filled out request forms on my web site.

To be fair, I used a lottery to distribute tickets. Those who were chosen in the lottery were notified in December. However, you do not need a ticket to attend the Inaugural swearing-in ceremony in the un-ticketed Mall area.

The Inaugural swearing-in ceremony will take place on Tuesday, January 20th at noon, with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. It is reported that Inauguration Day will be a record crowd, possibly several million people with traffic restricted around the National Mall and extremely tight security. It is estimated that most attendees will walk an average of 1 - 3 miles before getting to the Mall.

Transportation will be complicated. Maryland MARC is offering a limited number of tickets to and from Union Station in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and New Brunswick, www.mtamaryland.gov . Information about the Washington METRO is available at www.wmata.com .

Thank you for your interest in attending the Inauguration. For information about other Inauguration activities, you can visit www.pic2009.gov , a web site maintained by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

If you choose not to come to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration, I hope that you will find a way to gather with family or friends to mark the occasion at work, home or a community gathering. 

For more of my inauguration stories, check out the list below. 

1. Maryland Inaugural Ball sold out, can still win free tickets though
2. Obama's Inaugural Committee joining up with the Smithsonian
3. National Aqaurium is an option during inauguration time
4. Lincoln 2.0 Inaugural Ball joins the Obama party fray
5. The Obamas have moved to the Hay-Adams hotel in D.C.
6. Steve Case giving away hotel, air fare and tickets to Obama's inauguration
7. National Museum of American Indian hosting inauguration events
8. D.C. restaurants have Obama inauguration specials
9. Official Obama inauguration memorabilia on sale now
10. 44 cheap or free things to do in D.C. during Obama's inauguration
11. Win tickets to Obama's inauguration, no money necessary
12. Senator Barbara Mikulski has yet to give out Obama inauguration tickets
13. Amtrak beefing up service, staffing and security for Obama's inauguration
14. Two African embassies throwing inauguration party for Obama
15.  Inauguration Committee puts out a long list of advisories for Obama's swearing-in
16. Special Olympics to join inaugural parade
17. Inaugural D.C. Ball benefitting Metropolitan Police Boys and Girls clubs
18. 2009 Florida Inauguration Celebration to benefit local Red Cross chapters
19. Mambo For Obama Inaugural Ball added to schedule
20. Texas holding inaugural ball despite no Texan in the White House
21. Local 'The Wire' actor to host the H.O.P.E. Inaugural Youth Ball
22. Conservation Inauguration Gala honors Obamas and Bidens
23. North Carolina Inaugural Ball sold out
24. Celebrate the inauguration by cruising on the Potomac River
25. If you have an inauguration story, I want to hear it!
26. Annapolis, Md. hoping to capture some Obama inauguration business
27. New list of balls, galas, and other events celebrating Obama's inauguration
28. D.C. Council chops off one hour of inaugural drinking time
29. The Newseum is the place to be for Obama's inauguration day

Special Report: Inauguration Day 2009

• The Obama Administration at a glance
• Examiner.com Inauguration Roundup
• Examiner Coverage: Inauguration Day 2009
• Elections 2008 Examiner Coverage