..... political action committees and non-U.S. citizens to help pay for the inaugural festivities, and he’s capped the maximum donation from individuals to $50,000.

Committee spokeswoman Linda Douglass said the committee doesn’t have a price tag yet for the festivities, but it is cognizant that Obama’s swearing-in is likely to attract the largest group ever to attend an inauguration.

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s inauguration in 1965 is believed to be the largest in history, attended by an estimated 1.2 million people. Bush’s 2005 inaugural festivities set the record for expense, costing more than $40 million.

Washington D.C. officials estimate that anywhere between 1.5 million and four million people – most without tickets for the inauguration or evening galas afterwards – will descend upon the city.

Obama’s inaugural committee and congressional lawmakers - who’ve been overwhelmed by inauguration ticket requests from constituents - are working with federal agencies about the possibility of opening the National Mall, the two-mile area that stretches from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, to accommodate the anticipated crowd.

“We’re going to explore all kinds of creative ways to open this up to the public, everything from the swearing-in to the events,” Douglass told The New York Times. “This inauguration is more than just a celebration of an election … This is an event that can be used to inspire and galvanize the public to act. That’s what we’re aiming for.”

But crowd size and the historic nature of Obama’s swearing-in hasn’t stopped talk of cutting back. Much of the chatter has been fueled by stories that the cost of security and clean-up for the festivities will cost more than the $15 million the federal government allocates to Washington D.C. to help defray the expenses.

In a recent column, conservative writer Michelle Malkin asks where the Democrats are who suggested that Bush, saddled with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, should cut back his 2005 inaugural events. And conservative television and radio host Sean Hannity posted a question on his Web site that “Given Obama’s inauguration may cost more than $100 million, should he cancel?”

There is prescient for presidents pulling the plug on inaugural partying. President Franklin Pierce, mourning the death of his son, canceled his inaugural ball in 1853. President Woodrow Wilson didn’t have inaugural balls for his two terms in office because he thought they were too expensive. President Warren G. Harding scrapped his inaugural ball and parade for the same reason and opted for a private for a private party at home.

Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover skipped having formal inaugural parties. President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked at his desk instead of attending his inaugural ball in 1933 and canceled. He canceled the next three inaugural celebrations during his presidency because of the Great Depression and World War II.

Several lawmakers say they recognize that times are tight in America today but believe that cancelling or scaling back Obama inaugural festivities isn’t the way to go. In fact, they say, Obama swearing-in may give the economy a little bump.

For instance, at a time when airlines are having trouble filling seats, three carriers – Southwest, USAirways and JetBlue – are adding flights or using larger aircraft during inauguration week to accommodate travelers. Hotel rooms in the Washington area are nearly booked up, and those with space are asking as much as $500 a night with a mandatory three-or-four night minimum for guests.

Hotel space is so limited that some D.C. area residents are renting out their homes and apartments, asking for - and, in many cases, getting - premium prices.

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