Guess who is a more important guest at Blair House than Barack Obama? John Howard, the former Australian prime minister. As you will recall, Howard was one of the leading members of President Bush’s coalition of the willing in Iraq.
Howard and his entourage will be bunking at Blair House on Jan. 12, the night before he, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Colombian President Álvaro Uribe are to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bush, said Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush. The three current and former heads of state are longtime political allies of the president’s, and Blair and Howard were key partners in the Iraq war.
Blair and Uribe also were invited to stay at Blair House but declined Bush’s invitation, said a second White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Blair, who traditionally stays at the British Embassy, and Uribe apparently found other accommodations, the source said.
There are other scheduled events at Blair House, but no other overnight visits between now and Jan. 15, when the Obama family is scheduled to move in, McDonough said. Source: The Washington Post
Barack Obama had requested an early move0-in at the 70,000-square-foot, 119-room mansion so that his children could settle in to start school this week at Sidwell Friends School. But the Obamas was told the residence had been booked, so they took a suite at the Hay-Adams. At the time, the White House would not say which events were bumping the Obamas. Once again, President Bush has his priorities mixed up.
Filed under: Barack Obama, Blair House, John Howard, President George W. Bush
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