'Handshake Man' Won't Be At Inaugural

One of the fixtures of recent inaugurations won't be making an appearance Jan. 20, reports the Post's David Montgomery today. Montgomery caught up with the man who snuck past security to shake the hands of Bill Cliton and George Bush, only to find him in California without a ticket to Washington:

The Rev. Richard C. "Rich" Weaver -- dubbed Handshake Man by followers of his exploits -- has been Washington's most famous uninvited guest. Now in his early 60s, he has reached out and touched six presidents and countless senators. He was the ultimate man-without-a-ticket, the scourge of the Secret Service and Capitol Police, a hero to wedding crashers and gate jumpers everywhere, all the little people eternally locked outside the velvet ropes of life.

When asked how he penetrated the tightest of security bubbles, Weaver would say simply: "It's just God, buddy."

Now he's on the phone from Southern California, where he lives. "I have decided to not do any more with presidents," he says.

Also: "I've got one more year where I'm not allowed to go to Washington," he says.

Read the full story here.

By David A Nakamura  |  November 20, 2008; 7:11 AM ET  | Category:  Inaugural History , Swearing-in Ceremony
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