Inaugural ceremony takes place on January 20 : Will Barack Obama's Inauguration Be The Star-Studded Affair His Victory Party Wasn't?

Barack Obama during his election night rally at Grant Park Tuesday in Chicago

The presidential inauguration is an event that's about as close to a royal coronation as American government gets. It's a day filled with ceremony, guards, salutes, parades, speeches, a party that's actually still called a "ball" and, of course, symbolism: of new beginnings, rites of passage, of change. It's the president's opportunity to declare his administration's intent: At John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961, he made his legendary "Ask not what not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country" speech.

The United States Congress then will invite Obama and Biden to lunch, after which Obama will parade down from the Capitol to the White House.

And after all this pomp and circumstance, it's party time. Inaugural celebrations can last up to five days after the initial ceremony, but the most anticipated one is the Inaugural Ball — tickets, which are available on various ticket Web sites at exorbitant prices, are going fast. The official inauguration Web site unhelpfully says: "Tickets for the Inaugural swearing-in ceremony will be distributed to constituents in January 2009 by both Senators and Representatives of Congress of the 111th Congress."

It seems likely that the events surrounding the inauguration will be the kind of star-studded affair that Obama's victory celebration Tuesday night was not. The day before the election, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Obama campaign had asked some of its famous supporters to stay away from Tuesday's rally. Although the campaign is reportedly grateful for the high-profile support, several prominent celebs had reportedly been asked "politely but very firmly" to skip the rally — and focus on attending the Obama inauguration.

An Obama insider reportedly told the newspaper's Bill Zwecker that Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Sean "Diddy" Combs (who was surrounded by media, including MTV News, when he voted Tuesday), Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Ben Affleck were among those asked to stay away.

"There really only needs to be one star in Grant Park, and that's Barack," the insider reportedly said. "There will be plenty of time for a new President Obama to be surrounded by famous fans, all hopeful about a new administration."

So either way, on January 20 our nation's capital looks to be filled with A-listers of every stripe.

Change can Happen : Thank You For Your Support : Obama Say ....!

You proved that change can happen. You built an unprecedented grassroots organization in all 50 states that brought a record number of people into the political process -- many for the first time, many for the first time in a long time.

Our success required unprecedented resources, and the Democratic National Committee played a major role on the ground efforts that generated record turnout up and down the ticket.

Obama Help Banks or Homeowners? Should Be....!

My guy Andy Busch of BMO Capital Markets attacks the nationalization issue:

Circling this back to Geithner, there is a fundamental choice facing the US government and today we'll see how the designee responds. The choice is over whether the government should nationalize the banks or not. It is a choice over skill sets and profit incentives. As supported by the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the US struggles with how to manage these entities. To take over a bank and make decisions on how to lend or how to dispose of assets or how to manage a "for-profit" entity, the US Treasury or FDIC or Federal Reserve would be out of their depth.

This takes us back to the central question of how to resolve the banking crisis in the United States. So far, the US government has addressed the symptoms of the disease and not the disease itself. The symptoms include credit, liquidity, and toxic assets. The cures have been acronyms, backstops, and discussions of forming a "bad bank".

The disease remains housing and home prices.This is why I expect new TARP money to flow towards the housing market and to reduce the supply of foreclosures. Here's an idea: why not declare that as of January 1st 2009, all homes in foreclosure will be purchased by TARP? This attacks the supply or inventory problem forcing prices down. It would take away a major negative driver of bank assets. Yes, but it still means the government has to do something with those homes.

The best solution would be to follow the RTC model by putting the properties together and then holding a fire sale to clear the market. The government would take the loss between what they pay for the homes and what they sell them for to the market.It's this loss that no one wants to take or absorb. While the US taxpayer is on the hook for it, this solution attacks the central problem. More importantly unlike an acronym or a "bad bank", it will stabilize home prices. Taxpayers can live with nationalizing or socializing home owner losses from the real estate market much easier than they can live with taxpayer losses from the banking industry. Let's see which political party picks up on this first ...

The Renewable Energy Folks : the Renewable Energy Folks : The New In-Crowd in Obama's Washington

Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper at the inaugural ceremonies.

Yet if anyone needed an indicator of the growing prominence of the renewable energy world in the nation's capital during the age of Obama, it was on display Monday night at the Green Inaugural Ball, hosted by former Vice President Al Gore at the National Portrait Gallery.

Perhaps only in President Barack Obama's Washington could the CEOs of the nation's top wind and solar trade organizations pass for celebrities.

Standing on the red—or rather, green—carpet alongside musicians like John Legend, Maroon 5, and will.i.am were Denise Bode, the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, and Rhone Resch, the Solar Energy Industries Association's president and CEO.

The two lingered on the green carpet for a long while, chatting with associates, posing for pictures, shaking hands, and mingling with the more traditional, high-profile celebrities—such as Gore himself—who had brought out such star-chasing media as Glamour magazine.

Inside the ballroom, though, the talk was mostly wonky. Among the several hundred attendees were a large number of D.C. lobbyists, environmentalists, and trade association officials. They sat at small tables (with green tablecloths) or stood around in small groups, discussing topics like the nuances of carbon cap-and-trade legislation.

Mentions of "Boxer" and "Waxman" floated from one huddle to the next—references to Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrats who now chair major committees on energy or the environment and are expected to play a central role in drafting climate change legislation this year.

And the fate of bills, dealing with everything from conservation of public lands to tax incentives for the wind and solar industries, were a prime topic as people stood in line to fill their dinner plates with organic hamburgers and salads.

For these renewable energy proponents, Obama's presidency comes at a critical time: On one hand, the recent record-high oil prices have boosted the visibility of their industry. But the economic downturn is taking a toll, particularly with the tightening of credit markets and the drying up of corporate investment.

Still, the event was something of a coming-out party for renewable energy, which has evolved over the past decade from a group of niche industries into serious forces on Capitol Hill with sophisticated lobbying operations.

"We are making energy independence and reversing climate change a priority," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a prominent backer of incentives for renewable energy.

Taking the stage several hours into the ball, Gore told the crowd, "We have everything we need now, save perhaps political will. But...tomorrow at high noon, political will is a renewable resource."

And as if to address the power brokers in the room, Gore added, "We have to get out there and help [Obama] pass his program."

That program, as Obama has outlined it, includes doubling the country's renewable energy production and spending at least $150 billion to develop cleaner energy technologies. To get there, advocates say that Congress and the new president should continue to work on extending tax credits for wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources, help developers get access to financing for renewable projects, and find ways to improve electricity transmission from resource-rich areas—the windy Midwest, the sunny Southwest—to populous coastal regions.

"We are trying to get people on board not just for the stimulus package but for legislation down the road as well," says Bode. "For transmission, we are trying to build a consensus between industries and environmentalists and utilities, with leadership from the White House and Congress."