Posted on 11/27/2006 11:30:43 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
Amid a growing barrage of front-page headlines, U.S. embassy officials "strongly suggested" President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara Bush, cut short their trip to Buenos Aires because of security issues, U.S. diplomatic and security sources tell ABC News.
But the girls have stayed on, celebrating their 25th birthday over the weekend and producing even more headlines about their activities.
Officials say the media coverage upstaged publicity plans for the new U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne, who had only recently arrived in the country.
Neither the White House nor the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires responded to requests for comment.
The Argentinean press blitz followed a report on "The Blotter" last week that Barbara Bush's purse and cell phone were stolen last weekend while dining at the popular San Telmo outdoor marketplace despite being guarded by the Secret Service.
Stories of the twins' visit took on wild proportions in the Argentinean press. One tabloid headline had the young women running nude in the hallway of their hotel, a report the hotel staff denied to ABC News.
According to sources, the U.S. embassy encouraged the two girls to cut their stay short because the added attention was making their security very difficult.
But to the dismay and anger of some U.S. embassy and security staff, the girls stayed on.
Thursday night, an ABC News producer was able to walk into their hotel unchecked and engage Barbara Bush in conversation while she checked her e-mail on a computer in the lobby. Jenna sat talking with friends on a sofa nearby. No Secret Service agents were anywhere to be seen in the lobby, according to ABC News' Joe Goldman.
And yesterday the Bush twins were spotted at the Sunday soccer matches, wearing team jerseys and sitting in the owner's box, watching Argentina's top team Boca Juniors compete. Several games have been canceled due to violence in the crowds this year. In fact, last weekend no spectators were allowed to attend the match other than season ticket holders.
Sources tell ABC News the twins plan to stick to their original itinerary and stay in Buenos Aires until Thursday.
What are you talking about? What does a "boy" have to do with anything?
Just a little info for you...the Bush twins are twenty-five, so I don't think they are interested in "boys".
But is there any truth in the 'strong suggestion' by the State Department that they leave? It seems really silly to me...........even for the State Department.
I'd like a second, more reliable source than ABC.
I had consumed large quantities of bourbon and was celebrating by firing a semi-auto in the air ~ some municipalities frown on that.
It took several more years for me to realize I couldn't handle liquor and I haven't had a drink since '75.
I think some of these people haven't read a single thing about Barbara and Jenna since they were nineteen.....
A boy is why they would act in a defiant manner and not "good soldiers."
Are you Donna in disguise?
Nope. Just idle speculation. As valid as any other idle speculation.
Just curious.
"Surely the agents were in the general vicinity."
Maybe so but if they were there it seems just wierd that they would stand by & let some reporter just walk up to Barbara in the hotel lobby and chat her up like the ABC guy claims he did. You would think that anybody like that approaching the girls would be immediately grabbed.
But maybe it is not the Secret Service's fault. Maybe it's the twins, doing their best to get the Secret Service out of their way. I remember when Barbara was still at Yale -- at least once she & some of her friends ditched the SS entirely, speeding off down to New York City, leaving the SS in the car following theirs stuck at a toll booth! Fun! -- though probably not to the agents, who were no doubt pulling their hair out in sheer frustration.
Many of the same folks who call President Bush a "RINO" called President Reagan the same thing.............that is before they forgot he had any faults so they could use his name to beat up on his successor.
The State Dept. asked them to leave and they didn't leave. A little defiant.
Look, they're a pol's kids. It's a tough row to hoe. Any other kid in the world screws up or shows defiance it's no big deal. They do the same and it's a headline.
That was when she was 19. You haven't heard anything about her since then?
I never believe the MSM until I check it out, and it's usually wrong.
The Bush daughters haven't been 'defiant' for a long time. I doubt there's any 'screw up' here........other than maybe with the State Department.
Yes, obviously the State Department.
I can't find any confirmation of it. It wouldn't surprise me if some Democrat in the embassy in Argentina wasn't happy about the twins being there. That person might well have said something to an ABC reporter.
It's nothing more serious than that. US embassies do not ask Americans to leave a country unless conditions are deteriorating rapidly, and then it's an advisory. It would be unheard of to take a position on specific individuals, especially the daughters of the sitting President.
Just note who on this thread is criticizing the twins for "defying" the embassy, and judge all subsequent posts accordingly.
It may not be "defiant." I would suggest "foolhardy." I think Boca Juniors' stadium is called "La Bombanera," and it's sort of like Stalingrad every time the Juniors play against River Plate.
Shame on those girls for wasting four years in college...... LOL!
Yes, going to college is certainly responsible.
Getting arrested for underage drinking and possession of a fake ID on the other hand, that isn't quite so responsible in my book.
And Margaret Truman sang beautifully.
Here we go again.....
A lot of college students drink before they are of age. Is it right? Probably not, but it's really not a big deal.
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