For Dick Cheney and Silvio Berlusconi: No nudes is good nudes

Remember back in 2002 when then-Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft draped the statue of a bare-breasted woman in the Justice Department--at a cost of $8,000--so he would not have to appear at press conferences in front of the semi-nude figure?

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had a similar problem this summer. The backdrop in the Italian equivalent of the White House press briefing room is a reproduction of a Giovanni Battista Tiepolo allegory from the 18th century depicting the Lady of Truth:

Orribile!

So, this summer he ordered up a similar doctoring in the Palazzo Chigi.

The result: When he and Vice President Dick Cheney, who is completing a European trip, spoke to reporters today, the backdrop was G-rated.

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo: Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images