The Sultan Brought Cheesecake
Baubles, daggers, meat on 2003 White House gift list
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The Sultan Brought Cheesecake
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The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake -
The Sultan Brought Cheesecake
AUGUST 4--Three hundred pounds of lamb. A $12,000 Franck Muller watch. Christian Dior after-shave lotion. A Lady McDuffies gourmet lemon cheesecake. Those are just a few of the fabulous gifts received last year by the Bush family from foreign leaders, according to a list released this week by the Department of State's Office of Protocol (below you'll find excerpts from the 52-page report). It will probably come as no surprise that the most valuable gift came from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdallah, who gave First Lady Laura Bush a matching set of diamond and sapphire jewelry valued by U.S. officials at $95,500. The Saudi royal also gave the president an $8500 mantel clock and the "first family" (that would be first daughters Jenna and Barbara) received Bulgari necklaces valued at $8500 and $8000 apiece. Other recipients of Saudi largesse were Chief of Staff Andrew Card and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, both of whom got small daggers priced at $1500. The foreign gifts are taken, the State Department report notes, since "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government." However, in most cases, the items are turned over the National Archives for safekeeping. As for the lamb cache, we're guessing it was served to First Mutt Barney. (8 pages)
