Posted on 06/15/2004 2:02:23 AM PDT by F14 Pilot
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush put aside political differences with his predecessor Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton to welcome them back to the White House on Monday to unveil their official portraits.
But Bush couldn't resist a dig about the imminent publication of Clinton's memoir "My Life."
"I mean, I can tell you more of the story," Bush said after praising Clinton and retracing his path from Hope, Arkansas, to the White House, "but it's coming out in fine bookstores all over America."
While they have tangled politically in the past, Bush had only words of praise for the Clintons as he invited the 42nd president and his wife, now a Democratic senator from New York, to strip the black drapes from their portraits painted by artist Simmie Knox, the first African-American to do so.
Clinton, for his part, jokingly referred to all the political cartoons in his career and stuck to personal reflections.
"In the end, we are held together by this grand system of ours that permits us to debate and struggle and fight for what we believe is right," Clinton said. "And I'm honored to be a small part of it."
Clinton, his daughter Chelsea in the audience, said he was particularly drawn during tough times to a portrait of "macho" U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt.
"You look at that picture and you see here's a human being who's scared to death and not sure it's going to come out all right," Clinton said. "And he does the right thing, anyway."
The likeness of Clinton, portrayed leaning with one hand on his desk against a backdrop of columns and the U.S. flag, will hang first on the west side of the mansion's Grand Foyer near the portrait he, as president, helped unveil of his own predecessor, former President George Bush.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton, whose picture will hang in the White House's lower level near that of her predecessor, Barbara Bush, is the first sitting senator to have her portrait hung in the White House.
Former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) (L) looks at his portrait as he stands with his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) after their official portraits were unveiled during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House, in Washington, June 14, 2004. (Gary Hershorn/Reuters)
From what I've seen of the portraits they are very good. Also, Chelsea looked very nice at the ceremony. Okay, that's as nice as I'm going to get. No further comments.
Chelsea does look much better.
I may be old fashioned, but it bugs me that Hillary is the first "first lady" to be wearing pants.
Wearing pants in the portrait that is.
I am very much in favor of her NEVER going out without SOME sort of pants on.
First Lady Spongeb**** Squarepants
LOL,, look closely,, she could be the younger sister of Paula Jones,,,,
"And I'm honored to be a small part of it."
Very small.
Microscopic, even.
"Ol' Crusty" has finally become even more immortal than it already was.
Interesting that she chose such a Colonial "founding fathers" pose.
I wonder if Old Crusty is the first pair of pants to be put on a First Lady's portrait. I cannot imagine any previous First Lady in recent years being painted in britches.
The things a sitting President must do for his country.
She doesn't waste time with subliminal messages, does she?
[all the yarbles]
I may be old fashioned, but it bugs me that Hillary is the first "first lady" to be wearing pants.
She has always thought that she has worn the pants.
Bill uses his for ankle warmers.
Commie pants.
I think that has to be the oddest painting of a President I have ever seen, and you know Clinton requested that pose. I mean look at it, he`s not smiling, he`s just standing there like a lifeless zombie. What is with that?
Except that it terrified him so much that he did his utmost to ban military-grade weapons while in office. The same military-grade weapons that were enshrined in the second amendment as a right of all free men to defend themselves, their communities, and their nation.
The same military-grade weapons that terrified one Russian general so much that he admitted it was Soviet policy to never invade North America with a land force because it would be so well-defended by its own population. And it would be defended by the rifles HCI and Clinton worked so hard to keep out of the hands of the common people.
Fear the politician who wants gun control for his people. Trust the man who supports the right to keep and bear arms without wavering.
Kerry has probably voted for every piece of gun control legislation he could. What does that say about his faith in his fellow Americans? To his commitment to defend the Constitution? To his dedication to the ideas of personal responsibility? It says a lot. It says we can never trust him as our president, along with many other points we could make about his method of opposing the Vietnam war.
All credit to Freeper 'dead'.
Cosmo Clinton Portrait Unveiled
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