Lobbying loophole.

Byline: The Register-Guard

To some people, complaints about who's ponying up the money for President Bush's Thursday inaugural festivities sound like so much sour grapes. Get over it, they say. The man won the election, now let him have his celebration.

No one begrudges President Bush a dignified inauguration or the pomp and circumstance that herald the arrival of a new administration. It is a ringing endorsement of American democracy that the nation can celebrate the peaceful transfer of power after a hard-fought, divisive election.

But 96 percent of the $26 million contributed to date for Bush's bash has come from corporations and corporate executives, according to an analysis by Public Citizen, the nonprofit consumer watchdog organization.

Why should ordinary citizens care about that? Because corporations by law are barred from making direct contributions to presidential candidates and campaigns - for good reason. Watching the CEO of a company press a wad of greenbacks into a candidate's open hand invites assumptions of corruption and undermines public faith in elections.

Unfortunately, fund-raising for inaugurations carries few of the restrictions that apply to large campaign contributions by wealthy individuals and corporations. Yet it is common knowledge that lobbyists looking to bag favors consider a presidential inauguration as the opening day of hunting season. The fat cats who bankroll inaugural parties buy priceless access to officials in the new administration, up to and including the president.

All too often, industries with unambiguous agendas are the biggest donors to inaugural festivities, and that's certainly the case for Bush's inauguration. Public Citizen listed the finance and investment industry as the largest contributor to the 2005 inaugural fund. Money managers stand to hit a taxpayer-financed jackpot if Bush is allowed to dismantle Social Security and force Americans to invest part of their payroll taxes in the stock market.

Likewise, energy moguls have bought plenty of seats at Thursday's blowout. ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Cinergy, Occidental Petroleum and the Nuclear Energy Institute comprised the second-largest bloc of corporate donors, all with a vested interest in keeping the administration's industry-friendly energy bill on track in Congress.

It doesn't have to be this way. Inaugurations are clearly an inextricable part of presidential elections. There is no good reason why the same rules that apply to federal campaigns - no corporate contributions and maximum individual contributions of $2,000 - shouldn't also apply to presidential inaugurations.

Appearances are important, especially for an administration that never misses an opportunity to hold up U.S. democracy as a model for the world to emulate.