It looks like I will get to go to the Capitol to cover the Obama Inauguration after all, as my application for a press credential finally got approved.
Last week I had received an email telling me that I was going to be out in the cold.
"Due to the unprecedented demand and historic level of interest in covering the Inaugural swearing-in ceremony and space limitations, the Senate Radio-Television Gallery is unable to accommodate your request," my rejection letter read.
No one was able to offer me any tangible reason why some like me - a "regular" for 23+ years now as a reporter on Capitol Hill - would be rejected.
Then I finally got an explanation.
It seems those running the show merged two databases together of journalistic application information and I was on both.
So it automatically spit out a rejection email to me and a number of other unlucky people.
Four years ago I had to wait until 9pm on the night before the Inaugural to get my pass. This time I got it the weekend before.
Progress!
Now I still have one hurdle to overcome, to get another special pass that will let me into my booth on the House side of the Capitol, where I have a window that looks onto the West Front, where the Inauguration will take place.
That is today's goal.
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