Comedian Kate
Clinton descends on D.C.'s Dupont Circle for a saging of
the White House before ushering in President-elect Barack
Obama.
If you thought
you saw smoke wafting up from Washington, D.C., Monday
night, it wasn’t just steam billowing out of Dick
Cheney’s ears at the thought of surrendering
his throne.
Instead, it was
hundreds of queers and our straight brothers and sisters
joining comedian Kate Clinton in the gay hub of Dupont
Circle at her unofficial-yet-sacred inaugural
ceremony: the Saging of the White House. That’s
right, Clinton and her followers burned sage in order to rid
the first family’s residence-in-waiting of any
evil spirits that may be left lurking in the shadows
of George W. Bush’s presidency.
If it sounds
“deep lez,” as they say, it was -- equal parts
Wicca and woo-woo, complete with spontaneous
renditions of “This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine,” the famous antiwar
refrain, “Ain’t gonna study war no
more,” and a ritualistic cleansing administered by
Brooklynite shaman Mama Donna.
Clinton explained
to the crowd that she had come up with the idea after
reading that following President Bush’s visit to
Machu Picchu, shamans and priests were called in to
sage the area and exorcise it of bad spirits.
“And I made a joke,” recounted Clinton,
“I said, 'We should sage the White
House.’”
In honor of
Obama’s National Day of Service, Clinton enlisted the
crowd to help move the nation forward. “The
basic legacy of the Bush regime is cleanup on aisle 5
and 7 and 9 and everywhere. We have a lot of work to
do and that’s what we’re starting here
tonight,” she said.
“Signs are
good everywhere,” Clinton told the throng. “In
New York City a plane landed on the water,” she
said to cheers, “and there was a competent
pilot, there were helpful flight attendants, and people
helped each other get off that plane safely.
It’s a miracle on the Hudson; it’s a
good sign for tomorrow.”
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