Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON – With President Bush on the platform at the U.S. Capitol and the inauguration ceremony just under way Thursday, Chief Justice William Rehnquist appeared at the top of the Capitol steps.

He looked weak but determined, and he walked slowly down the steps under his own power, with the aid of a cane. It was a dramatic, moving moment in a day of carefully planned pomp and celebration.

Rehnquist had not made a public appearance since he announced last fall that he was suffering from thyroid cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.

There had been considerable speculation in Washington about whether he would be strong enough to perform the swearing-in ceremony.

But Rehnquist didn’t falter. His distinctive baritone was noticeably weaker and windy – he had undergone a tracheotomy in October -and his stoop was a bit more pronounced. But his hair had long been thinning; his skin has always looked blotchy. He is 80 years old.

Chief justice since 1986, Rehnquist presided over his fifth presidential inauguration on Thursday.

It likely will be his last, and just before he walked gingerly up the stairs and back into the warmth of the Capitol, Bush shook his hand and clasped his shoulder, nodding his appreciation.

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(c) 2005, Chicago Tribune.

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PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): inauguration

AP-NY-01-20-05 2119EST

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