Bush's inaugural donors were mostly individuals, lobbyists and companies with a vested interest in high oil prices, deregulation,** and the mortgage bubble. The Obama team isn't taking money from lobbyists or companies, has lowered the top donation from Bush's $250k to $50k, and (we find tucked into the bottom of a Politico story about "big donors") all but 5,632 of the 200,000 donations they've received were less than $200, for an average donation of $34.

Which, I guess, is why two days before the inauguration right pundit pushback has been reduced to this:

Even President Bush — who presumably counts himself among that group — said last week that Obama's inauguration is "a moment of hope and pride."

That's not exactly how Michelle Malkin describes it.

"Jan. 20 has turned into a schlock inauguration, (where) every last moocher has come to cash in on Obama," says the conservative blogger and pundit. "There are some of us who want to bang our heads against the wall."

Lest we forget, this is what Ms. Malkin considers a tasteful inauguration.

Diners attending any of three candlelight inaugural dinners will be treated to a menu best described as "donor's delight," a compilation of dishes intended to honor major Bush campaign fundraisers. The chef's challenge: 4 courses and 12 brand names, representing millions in donations

By Deanna Swift

WASHINGTON, DC—Just call him the "Iron Chef" of the White House. Executive Chef Walter S. Scheib III is facing a major culinary challenge: how to create an inaugural menu that pays tribute to the brand names of a dozen top Bush campaign and GOP donors. From Coca Cola to Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Pilgrim's Pride turkeys, Scheib's dishes must satisfy the most powerful appetite on Capitol Hill these days: the taste for money.

"I've never had to create dishes that include soda, doughnuts and canned fruit before," says Scheib, who received his training at the Culinary Institute of America, and cooked at the Capitol Hilton in Washington and the Boca Raton Club before accepting the honor of "top toque" in the White House kitchens. But he says he's not worried. "I've already changed the way I cook and have given up all French recipes. This should be a snap," says Scheib, referring to the White House's ban on béchamel and beurre blanc after France refused to support the administration's decision to go to war in Iraq.

But preparing a meal that includes not one, but two varieties of doughnuts can test the mettle of any chef, Scheib concedes. Krispy Kreme Inc. gave more than $90,000 to the Republicans in 2004, while Dunkin Donuts has been a long-time GOP supporter. Scheib's solution: use the Krispy Kremes as the basis for Snowballs in Hot Fudge, a sauce made from Nestlé Nesquick, the product of another major donor, Nestlé CEO and Bush 'pioneer' Joe Weller.

Dunkin Donuts old-fashioned cake doughnuts, meanwhile, will become part of a sweet and savory stuffing for an old-time turkey dinner. The birds: Pilgrim's Pride Whole Butter Basted Turkeys. Pilgrim CEO Lonnie Pilgrim was a Bush pioneer in 2004, pledging to bring in more than $100,000 in contributions to the Bush/Cheney campaign.

Figuring out how to incorporate Coca-Cola into the meal was an altogether different matter, says Scheib. "It's a refreshing cola beverage, there's no doubt about it. But how do you cook with it? I had no idea." In the end, Scheib used the Coca-Cola as the basis for a brine, thus killing two birds, so-to-speak, with one stone. The Pilgrim's Pride Whole Butter Basted Turkeys benefit from their overnight soda bath, while Bush 'ranger' Barclay T. Resler, Vice President of Government Relations for Coca-Cola, gets some much deserved credit for rounding up more than $200,000 in campaign contributions

And to think I've been teasing average small time capitalists for selling Obama kitsch.

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