Marching in Their Places
Stand-In's Give Preview of Inauguration Day
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Staff Writer
The president's stand-in was a ham.
Heath F. Kuhlmann, a 24-year-old Marine Corps sergeant,
played President Clinton in the traditional inauguration
rehearsal yesterday morning, and he invested the role with
all the gusto of an old-time showman. On the heels of a trumpet
blast and a sonorous voice announcing his arrival on the
inauguration stand, Kuhlmann strode from inside the west side of
the U.S, Capitol with the loose swagger of a man who has power
and knows it. With appropriate solemnity, he raised his right
hand and took the oath of office from Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist"s stand-in, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard Sorrells.
Then Kuhlmann turned toward the Washington Monument to face the
vast and empty vista that stretched before him under a brilliant
morning sky. He raised his arms, Nixon-style, and gave two
thumbs-up to the scattered soldiers below.
And like every good ham, Kuhlmann milked the moment. He
practiced the presidential wave, that embracing arc of the out-
stretched hand. He moved his head from side to side, his eyes
sweeping over the imaginary crowd below. He nodded gravely. He
smiled. He frowned. He stopped just short of making a speech.
"I have no political aspirations," he said later, the merest hint
of a grin trying to leap from under the military gravitas
stitched on his face. "But it was pretty awe-inspiring being up
there. I can't imagine the emotions and feelings you would have
at that moment."
From 4:30 to 9:30 yesterday morning, organizers of the 53rd
Inauguration practiced their steps for Jan; 20, from the
swearing-in at the Capitol~ to the parade up Pennsylvania Avenue.
The rehearsal, with about 3,000 participants, went off with only
the most minor of glitches. At 4:30 a.m. the temperature hovered
around 20 degrees, and the instruments of some of the military
bands froze. The temporary inaugural stand, on the west front of
the Capitol, was coated with frozen snow, making all but the
imperturbable Kuhimann cautious about their footing.
"Whew, it's cold," said Technical set Ethel Butler, who works
at the Pentagon, as she paced at the foot of the Capitol. "My
toes are cold, and I forgot my good gloves."
As odd as it was, though, the temperature didn't begin to
approach the 7 degrees that forced cancellation of outdoor
ceremonies for Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1995.
For yesterday's rehearsal, Butler marched as a stand-in for
American Legion Post 109's "The Original 27 Flags", which is
representing Maryland in the parade.
"I'm the legion post's escort during the real parade,"
Butler said, "so I~m trying to fi~gue out what the 27 Flags are."
Answer: The United States has had 27 flags in its history. With
the addition of each new state or states, more stars were added, and
the flag evolved from the original 13 stars to today's 50.
"Okay, that's good to know, Butler said, when told of the
significance of the number 27. "Now if anyone asks me, I know
what to say.
The parade rehearsal made it from Fourth Street and Pennsylva-
nia Avenue NW to the White House in about one hour and 15
minutes. Military bands and individuals walked the route carrying
signs saying they were representing scheduled participants. They
stopped now and then to allow traffic to cross the avenue.
"On game day, we want it to last about two, two and a half
hours,"said Lt. Col. Stephen Campbell,spokesman for the Armed
Forces Inaugural Committee. "the rehearsal went very smoothly,
and it gave us a good sense about our preparations."
The official Inaugural Parade next Monday will start at 2:20
p.m. For some of the participants yesterday, even a dress
rehearsal carried a bit of the awe of the real occasion.
It's a great thrill and a great opportunity," said Albert
Rybak, a computer systems analyst, who marched yesterday as the
Hanaford's Volunteers: Fife & Drum corps from Vermont. Rybak, a naval reservist from Birmningham. was trolling the Internet some months ago when he saw that he could work for the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee instead of spending his annual
training on a minesweeper based at Ingleside, Tx.
"My wife was sad to see me go because she's pregnant," Rybak
said. "But this is really something."
An the stand-ins, representing everyone from the Boy Scout
who will recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Rev. Billy
Graham, who will give the opening prayer, came from cere-
monial military units in the Washington area. But the undisputed
star of the show, at least yesterday, was Kuhlmann, who was
selected by his peers as Clinton's stand-in.
"I guess we're just two good-looking guys," said Kuhlmann, a
native of Midland, Tex., who said he was a shoo-in for the part.
After the swearing-in, Kuhlmann was escorted though the
Capitol to the east side, where he was met by Maj. Gen. Robert
Foley, chairman of the armed forces committee. The two, and the
stand-ins for Vice President Gore and the Clinton and Gore
families, reviewed the presidential escort.
Foley kept up a lively patter with the phony president,
explaining the history of the ceremony.
"I guess he was practicing what he'll say to the president,"
Kuhlmann said.
Once the review was over, Kuhlman was escorted tantalizingly
close to the door of a limousine, he never got to sit in it.
The review complete, Kuhlmann had a brief stand-up with the
assembled media, who asked for whom he voted. 'I don't think that really matters," said Kuhlman, with the kind of haughtiness Washington power players reserve for snarling hacks.
And then it was over.
Kuhlman, stripped of his temporary place in the sun, walked up
the steps to enter the Capitol and took off the sign hanging
around his neck that said "President".
An official, watching him pass, wisecracked: "You just got
impeached."
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