Frank Rich: Washington Parties On

I haven't written about the tsunami and relief efforts yet, but I will soon. The main thing I've been thinking about is the huge disconnect between what's going on in that part of the world and how our lives in America seem unaffected. Frank Rich addressed a similar disconnect in his column on Sunday -- contrasting the Kennedy Center honors with the Mosul bombing that had occurred the night before.

Looking ahead to the inauguration, Rich writes: "Roosevelt decreed that the usual gaiety be set aside at his wartime inaugural in January 1945. There will be no such restraint in the $40 million, four-day extravaganza planned this time... The official theme of the show is 'Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service.' That's no guarantee that the troops in Iraq will get armor, but Washington will, at least, give home-front military personnel free admission to one of the nine inaugural balls and let them eat cake."