If so, only because expectations got raised beyond all relation to reality. With the media hyping the inauguration of Barack Obama, estimates of attendance grew larger than most American large cities. With that much tourist traffic, DC denizens thought they could get some cash out of it — but according to CBS, it’s just another economic bubble created by artificial government incentives:

Earlier inaugurations were considered blockbusters if they attracted 400,000 people. Some estimates for Obama’s big day ran to ten times that amount or more. Those kinds of numbers inspired the more mercenary natures of locals uninterested in the festivities but very interested in making some extra income. Instead of a boom, the exercise appears to be a microcosm of the collapse in the housing economy, although thankfully the only investment they’ll lose is the time they spent listing their homes as rental properties.

I’m certain that Obama will significantly outdraw previous inaugurations and set some records for attendance, but apparently he won’t get the equivalent of the entire population of Minnesota.