WASHINGTON, May 4
How does George W. Bush, a towel-snapping Texan who puts his feet
on the coffee table, drinks water straight from the bottle and was
once caught on tape talking with food in his mouth prepare for a
state dinner with the queen?
With tips from an etiquette guide, of course and a little gentle
prodding from his wife.
The White House is atwitter over the visit on Monday by Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. This is the
first visit by the queen since 1991, when Mr. Bushs father was
president. White House aides say the state dinner in her honor is
not only the social event of the year, but also of the entire Bush
presidency.
It will be closely watched by the social elite for its collision of
cultures Texas swagger meets British prim. Dinner attire is white
tie and tails, the first and, perhaps, only white-tie affair of the
Bush administration. The president was said to be none too keen on
that, but bowed to a higher power, his wife.
I think Mrs. Bush is thrilled to have a white-tie dinner, and
well leave it at that, Amy Zantzinger, the new White House social
secretary, said on Friday as she arranged seating for 134 on a
computerized screen behind her desk in the East Wing.
Ms. Zantzinger was not swamped with requests. Anybody who had not
already received one of the elegant gold-rimmed invitations
(hand-penned by a calligrapher and then engraved) apparently knew
that it would be gauche to ask. Still, the exclusivity has created
some awkward moments, as when the social secretary bumped into
former President Bush, who was not on her list, in the West
Wing.
He was making jokes, and then he said, You know what, that is the
hottest ticket in town, she said, adding, If he wanted to come,
he could have.
At that, the first ladys press secretary, Sally McDonough,
apparently fearing an international incident coming on,
interrupted.
Its not that he didnt want to come, Ms. McDonough explained,
adding that the elder Bushes would be guests at the reciprocal
dinner that the royal couple was having on Tuesday at the British
Embassy.
Its very strategic in the coordination between the two dinners,
Ms. McDonough said. So strategic, in fact, that the color of the
womens attire is also coordinated, to avoid the horror of the
first lady and queen clashing or, worse, matching.
Mr. Bushs moniker for his father, 41, is well known, and he will
surely need no etiquette guide to warn him away from referring to
the queen as II. Even so, as it does for every official state
visit, the White House has been consulting with the State
Department chief of protocol.
The resulting booklet of tips is not exactly classified, but it is
definitely not public.
Aides to Mrs. Bush shared a few dos and donts. The queen shall be
addressed as Your Majesty. The prince is Your Royal
Highness.
For women, curtseying is acceptable, but not required. One does not
shake the queens hand unless the queen offers hers first.
And after Her Majesty finishes her meal, everyones meal is
finished. (Not to worry, a senior official said of Mr. Bush: Hes
a really fast eater.)
The guidebook includes the queens dietary restrictions. She
doesnt like spicy food, said Anita McBride, Mrs. Bushs chief of
staff.
The visit has brought a sense of giddiness to a White House worn
down by the Iraq war and fights with Democrats in Congress, as well
as distracted by a sex scandal that brought the resignation of a
top State Department official
In the West Wing on Friday, the talk was of negotiations with
Syria, but in the East Wing, it was all about china and not the
country. The meal of five courses instead of the customary four
will be served on gold-trimmed Lenox bought in the Clinton
years.
The floral shop was frantic, with seven florists arranging
centerpieces for every public room in the house. Cream-colored
roses and white lilacs for the State Dining Room, pale pink roses
for the Green Room, pale yellow roses in the Diplomatic Room and
classic red roses for the Red Room.
Wet Paint signs were everywhere, and workers were washing the
windows in the Colonnade that runs past the Rose Garden. Inside, at
Mrs. Bushs direction, a panel of photographs of earlier royal
visits was on display, including one of President Gerald R. Ford
dancing with the queen in 1976.
Even Vice President Dick Cheney got into the act as the official
White House representative at the welcoming on Friday in Jamestown,
Va. He proclaimed the visit an affirmation of the ties of trust
and warm friendship between our two countries.
Even some bipartisanship was in the air. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the
California Democrat known for her elegance, will attend the dinner.
The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, decidedly less
elegant, declined.
Senator Reid isnt much of a white-tail-at-dinner kind of a guy,
his spokesman, Jim Manley, said.
But dinner only goes so far toward bipartisanship. Hes issued
three veto threats this week, Ms. Pelosis spokesman, Brendan
Daly, said about Mr. Bush.
On the Republican side, Representative David Dreier of California
understood the white-tie anxiety. Just the idea of tails its
not comfortable, Mr. Dreier grumbled.
But he will happily wear his own on Monday, he said, to escort
Leonore Annenberg, chief of protocol for President Ronald
Reagan.
This is the queens fourth state visit to the United States. Aside
from the 1991 and 1976 visits, she was here in 1957 when Dwight D.
Eisenhower was president.
And Washington has mingled with British royalty on the other side
of the Atlantic, as well.
In July 2001, the Bushes had lunch with the queen at Buckingham
Palace.
He didnt drink water out of his bottle, said Ari Fleischer, the
former White House press secretary, who was there.
By Mr. Fleischers telling, Mr. Bush once did drink water out of
his bottle at a United Nations lunch, prompting Secretary of State
Colin L. Powell to give the president a gentle hint by pouring
water in his glass.
On their official visit to the Britain in November 2003, the Bushes
were feted at a state banquet, also white tie. Two years later,
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were here. And, as Ms.
McBride pointed out, the president and the first lady were guests
in 1991 at the last state dinner for the queen, with Mr. Bushs
parents as hosts.
The president made no social miscues at those events, but last year
he was spotted eating a dinner roll while talking to Prime Minister
Tony Blair of Britain. At that meeting of world leaders, Mr. Bush
also gave Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany an impromptu shoulder
rub.
Ms. McBride was not concerned. I wouldnt worry at all about his
table manners, she said, adding, The president, frankly, is quite
comfortable in every setting, no matter who it is.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/washington/05queen.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin