That’s the Ticket : In the Frenzy to Find Last-Minute Inaugural Invitations, the Resourceful Rely on Money, Moxie and Connections

WASHINGTON —  Any party to which 116,000 people have been invited would hardly be considered exclusive. But the presidential Inaugural Ball, which is so big it will be staged at eight sites on Friday, is something special--at least to some people.

It isn’t so special that any of the former Presidents will help celebrate the inauguration of George Herbert Walker Bush and James Danforth Quayle. Invitations went to Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, but all have indicated they will not attend.

But thousands of social climbers across the land feel differently about the usually snowbound ball. And the real die-hards among them still are scrambling for invitations.

Unless they’re on the “A+” guest list submitted by the Bushes and Quayles (a list that includes members of the submarine crew who rescued pilot Bush after he was shot down in the Pacific on Sept. 2, 1944,) would-be guests’ fates lie in hands of the inaugural chairmen in each of the 50 states and the American territories.

State chairs are told by the inaugural committee how long their invitation lists can be. Then the states submit those lists to the committee, which mails invitations for guests to buy tickets.

Most of the chairs and their coordinators are suffering from telephone ear burn handling calls from would-be guests, some who are openly panicky and try begging, while others try the quieter, look-down-the-nose demand.

Taking the Calls

“Oh, we get a lot of people who are indignant,” said Kim Whitman, the Oregon coordinator. “They’re saying, ‘I cannot believe I did not get an invitation. If George heard about this he’d be furious! Do you have any idea who I am?’ I’m going, ‘No, I don’t have a clue.’ ”

Utah coordinator Amanda Pahnke said: “The calls I found most amusing were people who called, and were, of course, personal friends of George Bush, and said they shouldn’t be wasting their time talking to me, but they wanted to make sure I knew they were VIPs.”

Many of the calls come from invited guests, who, because of mailing delays by the committee, haven’t received their invitations. The fretful party-goers don’t know if their invitation has been delayed. Or could it be that some underling at the Washington inaugural committee spotted the name and said, “Invite them? Are you kidding?”

“The calls I’ve had are from people who are frantic, their reservations are made and they’ve bought their gowns,” said Pahnke. “That’s what I’ve been dealing with for three days. I’ve had some swearing and some serious phone calls.”

The non-refundable, reduced air fares are wonderful bargaining chips in negotiating for tickets to this inaugural: Surely, the argument goes, anyone dumb enough to go ahead and buy an airline ticket deserves to go to the ball. This strategy often works better than trying to exaggerate one’s importance to Bush, because the state chairs are wise to the campaign who-was-who. The formal ball, the biggest social event of the five-day inaugural celebration, is primarily for those who worked on the Bush campaign or poured money into it.

“A lot of the people calling had real or imagined experience working their tail off on the elect-Bush effort,” said Whitman, who was executive director of the Oregon Bush-Quayle committee, an undertaking small enough that he knew everyone else involved. “I say, ‘Were you at headquarters?’ And they say, ‘Oh, no, I worked out of my own home.’ Then I say, ‘Under whose supervision? What exactly was it you did?’ I’d never heard of them and yet they were trying to tell me how much money they raised. And I’d say, ‘Where did the money go? We never saw any checks.’ ”

Inaugural co-chair Bobby Holt, who has enough work on his hands supervising the raising of the total inaugural’s $25-million cost, still has the mundane chore of dealing with some ball ticket-seekers who get through to him on the phone.

“They say, ‘I was the assistant finance adviser to Bush’s (1970) Senate race,’ and I’m sure they were,” Holt said.

Calls to Sacramento

California coordinator Rick Davis, who works in Gov. George Deukmejian’s office, said he is receiving 50 calls a day and could have submitted 5,000 names to the inaugural committee if he had not been limited to 1,500.

“Many of them have been Republican supporters,” he said. “A couple of them said, ‘I sat right behind Ronald Reagan last time and I certainly should be invited this time.’ Nothing outrageous.”

Some people don’t even try to come up with a good reason why they should be invited. This earns high marks for honesty, but loses points on artistic impression.

“Generally they don’t couch it with much creativity,” said Penne Percy Korth, co-chair of the inaugural committee. “It’s usually, ‘Here I am. Please send me a ticket.’ ”

Whitman explained to one caller the criteria to get on the invitation list: First are those most active in the Bush-Quayle campaign; then those who donated money to it; then longtime GOP donors; then well-known Republicans.

The caller replied: “Well, I didn’t do any of those things. I just feel like, I voted for him and as an American, I ought to get an invitation.”

Whitman took his name and is trying to get him an invitation.

Of course that invitation probably will not be to the ball, but to other less popular events, such as the youth ball or the vice president’s reception.

Little, Liberal Oregon

The states have vastly differing ball ticket allotments. Oregon happens to have everything going against it in criteria the committee used to decide this: The state is small, far from Washington, has a Democratic governor and its seven electoral votes went to Dukakis. Little, liberal Oregon got 10 ball invitations; there were 2,000 for big, Republican Texas, Bush’s home state.

California--another huge Bush electoral state with a Republican governor--received about 1,500 ball tickets. New York, which is just a three-hour train ride from Washington and is more populous than Texas, received only 800 invitations; it, of course, has a Democratic governor and went to Dukakis.

There were 58,000 invitations for two mailed for the ball and its “A” list guests. Many more invitations were sent for other inaugural events for guests on the “B” list.

Finally, there are about 400,000 commemorative invitations, suitable for framing but not for entree to any event. To receive a commemorative, the hopefuls probably only need a pulse and enough money to call a state chair and scream until they get one.

In fact, the great untold secret of the whole inaugural affair is that if guests want badly enough to go to any of its events--even the coveted ball--all they probably need is money (for transportation, hotel and $175 ball ticket), moxie and a phone.

Some states have tickets they don’t need, and with some fast talking--surely you were born there or attended one of their fine schools--the state chairman can be talked out of a pair.

Utah, for example, was allotted 190 invitations; as of the second week of January, only about 110 takers were willing to foot the air fare and hotel bill to go.

“We’ve had people from other states who were originally from Utah calling, mostly people in Virginia and Washington and some Californians,” said Utah coordinator Pahnke, who said she accommodated them.

A frazzled Texas coordinator, who asked not to be named, said she had 2,000 invitations but “between 4,000 and 6,000 requests.” But next door in Oklahoma, coordinator Sharon Sharp reported the state allotment of 225 was “plenty. We have only gotten four or five requests from people who did not receive ball invitations. We’ve been very successful in trying to get one for everyone who wants one. I haven’t had anyone from other states call, except some Oklahomans in Washington, and I put them on our list.”

There is much more interest in attending inaugural events among those who live close to Washington.

Small Alaska Contingent

“To be bloody honest,” Alaska coordinator Yvonne Alford says, “making up the invitation list is much easier for us because it’s so bloody far away and costs so bloody much money. You’re talking about $3,000 for a cheapo trip.

“We don’t have folks jostling to get in like other states do. Alaska probably won’t have more than 30 people in Washington for the inaugural--our members of Congress, a few campaign people, and the biggies who have the money to come.

“There are a couple conservative bankers here going. Arco (Atlantic Richfield Oil Co.) has been kind to George Bush so some of the Arco officials here are going.” Alaska’s National Guard Eskimo Scouts will participate in the parade but not attend the ball.

Meanwhile, back in the Washington area, phones are ringing off the hook at the inaugural offices for Virginia (656 invitations), Maryland (623) and the District of Columbia (162).

Even more difficult to obtain are the small number of tickets available for the Capitol swearing-in ceremony. These tickets are issued by Congress. An aide to Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) said the senator would give out 11 tickets and had a waiting list of hundreds.

The state inaugural coordinators report they have handled all kinds of questions. One caller asked if his invitation was delayed because he had been investigated by the Secret Service in connection with an alleged assassination plot.

Some guests want to know how to get around Washington. “Our party is in the Pension Building,” Oklahoma coordinator Sharp said. “It’s kind of in a bad area of town. I tell people if you walk, walk in a group.”

Other callers want fashion advice. “I was just amazed that somebody spending a couple thousand bucks to go to the inaugural would ask Kim Whitman what to wear,” said Oregon coordinator Whitman, a 48-year-old real estate man. “I say, ‘Wear basic black, discreet cleavage and since you’re from Oregon, galoshes.’ ”

Whitman is not worrying about what he will wear to the Inaugural Ball because he’s not going.

“I don’t want to be around all those angry people I’ve been talking to on the phone,” he said. “It hasn’t even occurred to me to go.”

HOW TO INVITE YOURSELF “I cannot believe I did not get an invitation. If George heard about this he’d be furious! Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Here I am. Please send me a ticket.”

“I was the assistant finance adviser to Bush’s (1970) Senate race,”

“I sat right behind Ronald Reagan last time and I certainly should be invited this time.”

“I just feel like, I voted for him, and as an American, I ought to get an invitation.”