They'll never call it the "two party system" again. For five days—from Thursday through Inauguration Monday—Washington was awash in parties morning, noon and night. "I've been going to eight a day," said Margaret Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services. "I've been invited to at least 20 a day." That sounds pretty impressive, but the real movers and shakers don't trifle with numbers. Asked how many parties were being given in his honor (including one he threw to celebrate himself), Armand Hammer, the tycoon, philanthropist and veteran Sovietologist, merely shrugged. "I never count them," he said modestly.
All this celebrating caused some problems, of course. First there was the limousine gridlock that paralyzed the more fashionable streets and impeded the smooth flow of mirth. Then there was the social incest: At every fete, you'd see those same old faces—Margaret and Armand and Cap and Meese. Still, the tenacious reveler reaped ample rewards. Food, for instance. A random sample: ratatouille, oysters on the half shell, zucchini and peppers in pâté, sliced salmon and mini-bagels, truffles and, of course, caviar—caviar in cucumber circles, caviar atop smoked salmon and just plain old caviar on toast. And then there was dessert. At the Ford Motor Company's party, dessert was a huge cake decorated like the American flag, flanked by herds of chocolate elephant cookies—a veritable symphony of pastry and patriotism, carried by four "standard-bearers" and ceremonially sliced by Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
But this high-tone fun is real hard work and it can plumb tucker a man out. That's why Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger fell asleep while Armand Hammer was accepting a medal at the Corcoran Gallery party. "These are great events," Cap said at the NBC brunch the next morning. "It's lucky they only come every four years."
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