Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2007 > May > 07
Monday, May 7, 2007
Guest List
Highlights of the guest list for the 13 tables at the White House dinner for the queen:
Golf legend Arnold Palmer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Indianapolis Colt QB Peyton Manning, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten (and his mom, Analouise Bolten), daugher Barbara Bush and one-time boyfriend Jay Blount, TV personality Elizabeth Hasselbeck (and husband Tim, a QB for the New York Giants), CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz, NBC newsman David Gregory, Reuters reporter Steve Holland and Newsweek reporter Richard Wolffe.
Among the Texans: Anne Armstrong (former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain), former Commerce Secretary Don Evans, and businessmen Ray Hunt, Boone Pickens and Sid Bass.
Family-wise, ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and wife Columba are on the list.
White Tie Night at The White House
Tonight, this is the throne, the actual chair Queen Elizabeth will sit on during the White House white-tie dinner in her honor.
Laura Bush hosted an afternoon preview of the event, reminding reporters that President Bush was not overly excited about a white-tie dinner but playing along nicely.
“I will tell you that we did have to talk the president into white tie. … Dr. (Condoleezza) Rice and I took it upon ourselves to talk him into it, because we thought if we were ever going to have a white tie event, this would be the one,” Mrs. Bush said. “And so he was glad to wear white tie. But I don’t know about the rest of our guests, especially the ones from Texas. They’re probably having to go out and rent theirs this afternoon.”
The president will sit between the queen and Nancy Reagan. At a neighboring table, Mrs. Bush will be between Prince Philip and Sir David Manning, the UK’s amabassador to the USA.
Special guest: Calvin Borel, the jockey who rode Street Sense to victory in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
Tonight’s entertainer: Itzhak Perlman, virtuoso of the violin. (Memo to president: Charlie Daniels wasn’t available.)
Main course: Saddle of spring lamb
Permalink | |
DOJ: Let Goodling Sing
The Justice Department signed off today on allowing Monica Goodling, its former White House liaison, to testify in the on-going congressional investigation into whether eight U.S. attorneys were fired last year to silence public corruption investigations.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., lost no time in urging Goodling to immediately accept the panel’s offer of immunity from future prosecutions in exchange for telling all.
“I believe obtaining her testimony will be a critical step in our efforts to get to the truth about the circumstances surrounding the US attorney firings and possible politicization in the department’s prosecutorial function,” Conyers said.
In response to questions from Cox Newspapers, John Dowd, attorney for Goodling said: “Ms. Goodling will, of course, obey the order of the Court as to any questions put to her by the members and counsel for the House.”
Conyers said the committee would move “expeditiously” to apply for a federal court order, the last step in process, “so that we can schedule a hearing promptly.”
Glenn A. Fine, the Justice Department’s inspector general, and H. Marshall Jarrett, counsel of the Office of Professional Responsibility, sent Conyers a letter today stating that their joint investigation is in its early stages.
“As in any investigation that potentially could involve evidence of criminal conduct, we would prefer that any potential witness not be granted immunity at this state of the investigation,” the letter states.
But Fine and Jarrett went on to say that they understood the committee’s interest in obtaining Goodling’s testimony.
“Therefore, after balancing the significant congressional and public interest against the impact of the committee’s actions on our on-going investigation, we will not raise an objection or seek a deferral pursuant to the provisions of (the law),” the letter states.
Fine and Jarrett made the decision not to object because Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty have recused themselves from the inquiry since they are subjects of the investigation.
Permalink | |
Thompson Wants to Bypass Old Media
Fred Thompson, the former Senator-turned-actor, says he would have to run an unconventional campaign if he decides to make a late entrance into the Republican presidential contest.
He’s testing that tactic by going around Washington’s news media to reach the public directly. The star of TV’s “Law & Order” has begun churning out radio commentaries, blogging his views online and writing columns for conservative Websites.
Significantly, he gave one of his few on-camera interviews to the upstart online site Breitbart.tv. If he were to win the ‘08 election, Thompson said, it would be “in large part” because of such new ways to communicate.
To see the interview, click here.
Lunch with Her Majesty
As a public service for those of you whose invitations got lost in the mail, here is the menu for today’s White House luncheon for Queen Elizabeth.
Click for larger PDF
Permalink | |
Purse Hunt
At long last, we now know at least two things Queen Elizabeth carries in The Royal Purse.
Today, in full view of the crowd and while President Bush spoke, the queen dug into her purse and - voila - pulled out the text of her speech and eyeglasses to read it.
Permalink | |
Welcome, Your Oldness
As usual, the highlight of the highly-scripted White House welcome for Queen Elizabeth was an unscripted moment from the Leader of the Free World.
“The American people are proud to welcome Your Majesty back to the United States, a nation you’ve come to know very well. After all, you’ve dined with 10 U.S. presidents. You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17, in 1976,” Bush said, almost adding a couple of centuries to the queen’s age.
When the laughter died down, Bush ad-libbed, “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”
Permalink | |
The Royal Hoover
Little noticed, but valuable nonetheless, at today’s South Lawn welcome for Queen Elizabeth was the guy who vacuumed the red carpet leading into the White House.
Permalink | |
