Another test for Bush

A growing list of groups are organizing to protest Jan. 20 the swearing-in of President-elect George W. Bush and his vice president Richard Cheney. The bitter taste left over from the presidential race has created enough irritation to unleash one of the largest inauguration protests in years, according to veteran organizers. Police officials across the region are preparing intensive security arrangements, and say they will be prepared in case any of the protests turn disruptive.

This will by far be the biggest counter-inauguration since the 1973 Nixon inauguration, protesters predict.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Walter Fauntroy are planning a "shadow inauguration" outside the U.S. Supreme Court to swear in those pledging to uphold the Voting Rights Act. The Rev. Fauntroy, pastor of Washington�s New Bethel Baptist Church, said he has witnessed every swearing-in since President Franklin D. Roosevelt�s fourth in 1945. "I know of no inauguration that has been the source of greater controversy than this, following a shameful election," he said.

Thousands of others will converge on Washington to demand "Stop the death machine!" according to the New York-based International Action Center, which is also coordinating some protests. The International Action Center activity will be in opposition to the U.S. death penalty, a protest of Mr. Bush�s highest-in-the-nation record of executions as governor of Texas, and demand freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther Party member and radio journalist, who is now on Pennsylvania�s death-row, convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1982.

The New Black Panther Party, and its allies plan to stage a Day of Outrage march. Other activists are planning a Voters March to call for election reform and the abolishment of the electoral college.

In all, nine groups, ranging in size from 50 to 50,000, have applied for demonstration permits. At the second inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon, police estimated there were 25,000 to 100,000 demonstrators, including some who threw fruit and stones at Mr. Nixon�s car. The total crowd was about 300,000.

D.C. police are expecting about 750,000 people on Jan. 20 when President-elect Bush is sworn in. Accordingly, this inaugural will take on huge significance from a security aspect because of the attention it will get, not only domestically but around the world.

By Jan. 20, about 1,500 D.C. police officers will have taken a refresher course on crowd control. And information gathering is in full swing: D.C. police have been quietly attending organizational meetings of groups they worry might try to disrupt things, according to published reports. Several organizers also suspect police infiltrators have been in their midst.

A variety of groups had planned to rally against an assortment of demons, including racism, the death penalty and the corporate influence on politics. But complaints that some Florida votes were not counted, including those of many Blacks, have given demonstrators momentum and new energy.

Beyond any security concerns, the test will be to see how patiently the new president reacts to those who not only disagree with him, but who exercise their constitutional right to take their disagreement to the streets and to attempt to confront him.