How does one throw a gala event in a recession? This isn’t a Miss Manners query, but the latest occupation of the chattering class. The New York Times frets:

But with increasing numbers of people out of work and American soldiers enmeshed in two wars, inaugural planners face the task of keeping the tone respectful while still celebrating Mr. Obama’s achievement.

Let’s get real. The media won’t scoff at the Obamas’ excess the way they do over Republicans’. Every gala ball and attending superstar will be covered with breathless wonder, and the crowd size will be — according to the “most reliable sources” — the largest ever, for anything. This is the peak moment of Obama-mania and no recession is going to rain on their parade.

But there is something terribly odd about every inauguration. Sometimes we remember the speech if it’s very, very good (e.g. Lincoln, JFK), but usually it is not. Who can recall what Bill Clinton said? George H.W. Bush? Even more so, no one recalls the rest of the day’s exceptionally lavish events. The Rose Bowl Parade creates more lasting memories than the extracurricular inauguration events. And yet millions of dollars are spent and untold columns are written on the festivities, which no one can recall within a few months.

But beware: the orgy of self-congratulatory celebration is just heating up. Grumpy conservatives and D.C.  locals (who can conduct no business in town for several days) need to grin and bear it. They can nevertheless console themselves that, like the last Super Bowl, it will soon be a distant memory — and with no more cultural significance. And yes, diamonds are always fine, even in a depression.