if fact, there have been tanks at a number of ceremonies in washington, d.c. in the past. in 1957, 1961, 1991 for various occasions not just the gulf war victory parade but for inaugurations as well. it wasn't as unusual as some of the critics said. and i think in the end the tanks didn't play a very big role in the whole thing. as you mentioned, the real star of the show were those flyovers, especially the stealth bomber flyover which seemed to get a lot of admirers. >> alicia: does the president need to answer for any of these concerns that were brought up, national parks picking up part of the tab. anything like that? does he need to respond to any of that? >> well, a president usually takes care of his donors. there is no doubt about that. but in terms of why spend public money for a celebration like this? i'm sure the president's