Posted on 01/12/2009 5:27:48 PM PST by nickcarraway
To Barack Obama, from Congress on behalf of the American people: One hand-cut, crystal bowl with an etching of his new home in Washington.
The president-elect will receive the present at a luncheon with members of Congress after the inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20.
The $2,500 one-of-a-kind bowl weighs nearly 8 pounds and shows an image of the White House, with cherry trees on each side. As the bowl is rotated, the president's residence can be seen through the trees.
Congress commissioned the bowl from Lenox Inc., which donated it as a gift, a favor that is allowable under a congressional resolution.
Joe Biden will receive a similar crystal bowl when he becomes vice president, only his will have an image of the Capitol, with blooming cherry trees.
The gifts took hundreds of hours to make and were designed by glass cutter Timothy Carder using a combination of etching and hand cutting.
Obama's is 5 1/2 inches high and 9 inches in diameter and sits on a hand-cut base made of optical crystal engraved with his name and the date of his inauguration.
"The inauguration of a new president is one of the most solemn and ceremonial moments in our nation's history," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The bowl "captures the beauty and dignity" of the occasion, she said.
The company created the inaugural gifts for George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
"Lenox, a great American china company, has once again created a beautiful gift that captures the beauty and dignity of this truly special occasion," Feinstein said.
How friggen cute.
Hmmmm ... Did Bush and Chenny get the same treatmet from Congress? I don’t know and that is why I ask.
Take my name off of the it. My Congressman had better not have agreed to this.
During an economic crisis this is a ridiculously expensive gesture.
Why wasn’t the money donated to a local food bank or given to a local homeless shelter.
This is a disgusting example of Congress being out of touch, this along with the gigantic raise they just took from our taxes.
If you actually read the article above you would see that they did along with Clinton and Bush 41. I’m sure previos Presidents before them also recieved gifts from congress for the innaugration.
If you had read the article you would see that congress did not spend any money. It states that Lenox donated the gift.
It would be nice before people commented that they actually read the article.
Maybe if you read my reply you would see I stated the money from their raise was from taxes.
I didn’t say they gave the money for the gift.
The money rather than a gift still should have been given to charity rather than a ridiculously expensive meaningless gesture to people who already have enough.
I read your comment several times. You didn’t mentioned the raise till the end as being added on to any money spent on the gift. If you read the article you would know this is a tradition.
Portion of your comment.
“During an economic crisis this is a ridiculously expensive gesture.
Why wasn’t the money donated to a local food bank or given to a local homeless shelter.”
Here everything indicates you are specifially talking about the gift.
From http://inaugural.senate.gov/luncheon/gifts.cfm
During the Inaugural Luncheon it is traditional for the President and Vice President to be presented with gifts by the Congress on behalf of the American people. The President and Vice President will each be presented with a framed official photograph taken of their swearing-in ceremony by a Senate photographer, as well as flags flown over the U.S. Capitol during the inaugural ceremonies.
The President and Vice President will also receive one-of-a-kind engraved crystal bowls, created by the Lenox Company of Lawrenceville, NJ. President Obama will receive a bowl depicting the White House on a crystal base inscribed with “Barack H. Obama, January 20, 2009, The Presidential Inaugural.” Vice President Biden will receive a bowl depicting the United States Capitol, on a crystal base inscribed with “Joseph R. Biden, Jr., January 20, 2009, The Vice Presidential Inaugural.” The bowls were designed by Timothy Carder and hand-cut by master glass-cutter Peter O’Rourke.
Ok, whatever.
You win.
Gosh golly.
You betcha.
Un-hunh
Sorry, but that makes me want to puke.
Excuse me; but I am not giving a you know what thing to the Zero.
Did the American people authorize this? I don’t think so.
Maybe Kohler, American Standard, or Crane could commission a national urinal replete with the White House columns and porticos.
For a Zer0 inauguration, I'd piss in it!
I can’t wait for Jan. 21st so the Dems finally have to come to grips with reality..
Interesting— a $2,500.00 bowl donated by a company in bankruptcy and set to go on the auction block in February.
Wonder if the bankruptcy court knows that???
Interesting a company that is in bankruptcy and about to put on the auction block in February donated $2,500.00 gift— wonder if the bankruptcy court knows this-—
Lenox china filed for bankruptcy— looks like even the white house couldn’t keept them in business
I have seen misinformed and unfair comments on both liberal and conservative sites concerning the Lenox china setting commissioned by Laura Bush and the inaugural gift to Biden and Obama. Most people who make comments see everything through the filter of their political biases. $2,500.00 gift to the president will not lift a company from bankruptcy – by may give the beleaguered Lenox workers a needed moral lift. Lenox has been doing work for the Whitehouse for over 90 years – for BOTH parties. I assume it is a source of pride for them – let them have at least that without your nasty comments.
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