Obama's Inauguration Might Have Trouble Paying Its Bills

So, Obama's big second term inauguration is a little more than a week away, and apparently they're really behind on financing. Like, $10 million behind.

So, Obama's big second term inauguration is a little more than a week away, and apparently they're really behind on financing. Like, $10 million behind.

You would think coming up with a measly $50 million for a second-term inauguration would be easy after raising $1 billion for his campaign. But nope! That's not the case. The New York Times' Nicholas Confessore reports Obama's team are $10 million short of their $50 million goal. Obama's team denied rumors that they're even shorter of meeting their expectations.

We knew that this inauguration would be much more low-key than the star-studded affair in 2008. The New York Post and the Washington Post reported at the beginning of January that Obama's team were struggling to come up with the money, despite opening the doors to corporate donations, unlike his first inauguration ceremony. A lot of donor scorn has been directed at the scaling packages that Obama's staff are using to try and sell more tickets, and the offering of daily deals for tickets. "It’s like the Home Shopping Network," one donor told the New York Post.

Financial setbacks aren't the only problems organizers have faced. The pastor originally scheduled to give the benediction dropped out after some strange anti-gay remarks he made in the past surfaced. He seems to support gay conversion therapy. His resignation letter offered no apology and got the date wrong.

At least there's still Beyonce.