By DAVID HERBERT
With inaugural ball tickets selling for thousands of dollars on craigslist, some bachelors are trying to parlay extra tickets into hot dates -- and finding plenty of interested parties.
The Obama campaign spawned its share of romances, from lowly volunteer hookups to the courtship and eventual marriage of Obama advisers and academic heavyweights Samantha Power and Cass Sunstein. For some, the inaugural balls will be one last shot at bHarmony, except this time around, the playing field is decidedly tilted toward those holding an extra ticket, which for popular events like the Youth Ball are selling for $400 to $1,000 online.
Graham, a 24-year old former Obama organizer with a spare ticket to the Staff Ball, said that while he'd like to take someone who was involved with the campaign, his craigslist post is an "open-ended cattle call."
"Frankly, I want someone easy on the eyes that instills confidence in me," he told NationalJournal.com. "There will only be so many times in life where I have such good date bait!"
While the fish are nibbling -- Graham received more than 25 replies to his post in less than a day -- some would-be Cinderellas are taking a more proactive role. A handful of young women have already posted their own offers, like "Two Beautiful girls," who caution that "we won't have sex with you, because we are classy."
Mary, a 24-year old engineer from Boston, said she posted an ad because she thought it would be funny and has received a handful of offers. And while the historic weekend is supposed to be a magical, some of her suitors weren't in the mood.
"I got one e-mail that only said, 'How are your oral skills?'" she said. Another mentioned he had a hotel room.
Neither got e-mails back.
"That's kinda yucky," she laughed. "It's been comical to say the least."
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