PADUCAH, Ky. — For the first time in three decades, former Sen. Wendell Ford won't be just footsteps away from the swearing-in of the next president.

        Instead, Mr. Ford will watch the ceremony for President-elect Bush today from an unfamiliar spot: the living room of his Owensboro home.

Former Sen. Wendell Ford plans to watch the inauguration from his Owensboro home.

        He was on the inaugural platform on the steps of the Capitol for every inauguration from President Carter in 1977 to President Clinton in 1997.

        Mr. Ford, a Democrat, served in some capacity in the last four inaugurations as either chairman or co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. That committee plans every detail of the swearing-in of the president.

        “I think about it, but that's about all I can do,” Mr. Ford told the Paducah Sun in a phone interview. “I have tried to make myself adjust to the fact that it is somebody else's day.”

        This year, it's Sen. Mitch McConnell's day. The Kentucky Republican is chairman of the inauguration ceremony.

        Mr. McConnell will travel to the White House to escort Mr. Bush and President Clinton to the Capitol. He'll then serve as master of ceremonies for the formal events that will begin at noon and last about an hour.

        Mr. Ford said Mr. McConnell will likely be awestruck by the ceremony that transfers the helm of the world's most powerful nation.

        “When you stand there on the Capitol steps and look to the west, you see masses of people, about 400,000 of them,” Mr. Ford said. “You also realize that you are in the presence of the president and vice president — both incoming and outgoing. You have to pinch yourself to realize that you are a part of it.”

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