President Bush tries to say 'l'chaim,' ends up looking like a schmo
President Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, will be hosting a Hanukkah reception for Jewish leaders at the White House next month.
It's a nice gestu
re. There's just one kvetch: The invitations for the Hanukkah party show a Clydesdale horse pulling a big Christmas tree up the driveway at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And there's a Christmas wreath tacked to the White House in the background.
Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for Laura Bush, blamed the goof on a "staff mistake," according to the New York Post.
"Mrs. Bush is apologetic," McDonough said. "It is just something that fell through the cracks."
Although the mistake has invited lots of teasing in the blogosphere, not everyone is offended. The Orthodox Union's Institute for Public Affairs defended the president on jta.org:
Not only is George W. Bush the first to place a Chanukah Party on The White House calendar, but when the fact of this event is considered in the context of Jewish history -- a history of centuries of persecution and exclusion -- a sensible person's only reaction can be one of gratitude for the freedom Jews enjoy in the United States of America and respect and appreciation for this nation's president.
-- Kate Linthicum
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Photo credit: President Bush lights a menorah in 2003. Credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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At least it wasn't a picture of a family serving a Christmas ham....
Posted by: thorswitch | November 28, 2008 at 02:23 PM
President Bush made a minor error in a very nice gesture while 75% of American Jews voted for the Choice of Hamas and the Nation of Islam. Barack Hussein Obama. Now they are SCHMOs
Posted by: Dennis D | November 29, 2008 at 01:00 PM
It does sound foolish, a Hanukkah invitation with a Christmas tree in the background; but what this nation should be ashamed of is professing to follow Christ and not following his faith. He said man should live by every word of God. Part of that word is the books of Moses where God says not to add to or diminish from His word. He set the 7th day as a Sabbath of no work for anyone. He set Passover, Weeks, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles to be His holy days for us to celebrate.
If Christians followed Jesus Christ and the Gospels, they would also be following the Book of Moses called the Law or Torah. The Jews could then accept Jesus as the Messiah he is. The Muslims would follow also because the primary message of the Qur'an is to follow the whole Bible. (Like Jesus said.)
In Leviticus 26 God says to obey and have peace in the land or disobey and He will appoint over us terror and 4 x 7 curses. The evidence and the opportunity is before us. We have not been at war with radical Islamists, we have been at war with God. Now we can see how truly foolish a Christmas tree is in an invitation to a Jewish celebration which also is not a celebration to be added to God's others. He is always doing miracles; every day is a celebration of His power to deliver those who turn to Him.
Posted by: Marie Devine | November 29, 2008 at 07:10 PM
Next year, Obama will send out a beautiful Chanukah card replete with elegant portrayals of Judaica while Malley, Brzezinski, Powers and Scowcroft are selling Israel down the river.
Posted by: Gary Rosen | November 29, 2008 at 07:20 PM
Gary,
Obama's Mossad handler, Rahm Emmanuel, will make sure that doesn't happen.
Posted by: C. A. Lindbergh | November 30, 2008 at 03:09 AM
Since your point is context, please explain--just what does "L'Chaim" have to do with Chanukah?
Posted by: Bennett Ruda | November 30, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Dennis D - You _like_ Armageddon so what's the beef? You wanted the R's to win ergo you want God to win ergo you must let schmos be schmos so that God can smite mankind. It's all part of his plan, don'tcha know.
Posted by: Nunio Bydnis | December 01, 2008 at 04:26 AM