Posted on 04/02/2009 3:36:22 PM PDT by mojito
Raymond P. Martinez (Chief of Protocol):
Good afternoon everyone. Thank you very much for having me on “Ask the White House.” I look forward to talking with you today about the Office of the Chief of Protocol and what our role is for the President. We are responsible for many activities including the planning, hosting, and officiating of ceremonial events for visiting chiefs of state and heads of government, as well as coordinating logistics for the visits. We also manage Blair House, the President's guesthouse, and oversee all protocol matters for Presidential, Vice Presidential and Presidential delegation trips abroad. As you know, The President and Mrs. Bush welcomed Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, for a State Visit yesterday at the White House....
Tyrone, from Florida writes:
Hon. Mr. Martinez, Thank your for taking our questions. Her Majesty, Elizabeth II...is such a grand woman. I am glad that she was able to make the trip to the "colonies." I would like to know what official gift was presented to her by the President and what gift she present to the President and the American people on behalf of her many subjects?
Raymond P. Martinez:
Tyrone, the principals conducted a leader to leader gift exchange in the Red Room of the White House immediately after the arrival ceremony. President and Mrs. Bush gave Her Majesty a bronze statuette “High Desert Princess” with a personal inscription on the bottom of the base. It is a replica of the original life size statue that is located in front of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, Texas.
President and Mrs. Bush gave The Prince Philip an exclusive sterling silver eagle box by Tiffany & Co. with personal inscription on the inside lid.
President and Mrs. Bush gave Their Majesties a leather presentation box filled with a collection of documents from the National Archives. One of the items was a copy of an original letter from President Roosevelt to her father, King George, written in 1938. There were also photos from previous royal visits and a DVD of the footage from the Queen’s visit to the United States when she was Princess Elizabeth in 1951.
Their Majesties gave President Bush a sterling silver oversized plate by William & Son with gold seals including: the Presidential seal, the Royal seal and a center seal with the star of Texas surrounded by roses. There was a personal inscription on the back of the plate. They gave Mrs. Bush a gold and crystal clock with the Royal seal by William & Son.
The Office of the Chief of Protocol assists the President and First Lady in the selection and presentation of gifts to foreign leaders.
Very very nice to read something special today..this has been a trying day.
Love it, thanks!
oh boy, i can't wait to find out who the chief of protocol is NOW!!!
**President and Mrs. Bush gave Their Majesties a leather presentation box filled with a collection of documents from the National Archives. One of the items was a copy of an original letter from President Roosevelt to her father, King George, written in 1938. There were also photos from previous royal visits and a DVD of the footage from the Queen’s visit to the United States when she was Princess Elizabeth in 1951.**
Now that’s a nice gift. All focused on the Queen and English history.
The Obama’s are flunking the world etiquette quiz.
"...Under the direction of the Acting Chief of Protocol Gladys Boluda..."
That's who's running the SHOW.
“a photo of themselves,” no doubt with the inscription, “Royalty and class-—or, you wish you could be.”
From Wikipedia: The Chief of Protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the President of the United States, the vice president, and the secretary of state on matters of national and international diplomatic protocol. The Chief of Protocol holds the rank of Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State.
The chief arranges itineraries for foreign dignitaries visiting the U.S. and accompanies the president on all official international travel. Additionally, the office is responsible for accrediting foreign diplomats and publishing the list of foreign consular offices in the U.S., organizing ceremonies for treaty signings, conducting ambassadorial swearing-in and state arrival ceremonies, and maintaining Blair House, the official guest house for state visitors.
The acting Chief of Protocol is Gladys Boluda, who took on the position at the end of Nancy Brinker’s term on January 20, 2009. A new Chief of Protocol has yet to be appointed.
Can’t the Gov just write it off their taxes? /joke
The Obamas hate America and therefore see nothing of value or good in American heritage.
That is why they give gifts of DVD’s and Ipods with the TOTUS liar’s speeches on it.
Remember, old Michelle was never proud of her country until her ACORN elected Kenyan hubby was a candidate.
well this is indeed interesting because my wife who works in DC has been telling me for months that all the women at work laugh at Mr. First Lady and believe she’s crass and unsophisticated, etc etc etc.
It’s not something that guys pay much attention to, but wifey reports the general sense is that she’s quite the artless country bumpkin, and this cuts across all age groups and even across the political spectrum. Even the women who like Zer0 think Ms. Zer0 is an embarrassment.
One must assume Ms. First Lady is in charge of gift giving.
The Queen ADORES horses. Very nice gift.....class to class.
That's exactly what I thought of when I heard about the DVD's and the toy Marine One.
Sunny Davis!
The Queen is how old?...how many IPODs does the Queen have?...now, one more than she wants!
I don’t think this is an official state visit. Here are some interesting facts about visits and The Queen. May not be true. It is on yahoo after all.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090328183822AA2GhSI
I'm still trying figure whether he fired protocol immediately upon taking office, or if he's not listening to protocol. I tend to think he fired them because if protocol was present, they wouldn't let the country be embarrassed this much or he hired totally unqualified, careless, ingnoramuses as dumb as he is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.