by Mark Silva
This is one of those days when you gotta miss George W. Bush:
President Barack Obama planed host to the prime minister of Japan today, the first visit from a foreign leader in the new Oval Office, and there was no talk of Elvis.
Former President Bush, who had struck up a friendship with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi built largely around their shared interest in Elvis Presley, could hardly get through a mention of Japan or the U.S. relationship with the nation without noting not only the historical shift for two countries which once stood at war, but also the Elvis-love that Koizumi showed.
Bush took the guy to Graceland.
But Koizumi is gone, and so is Bush.
And so is Elvis.
"I would just like to say welcome to the prime minister,'' Obama said of his visitor today, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.
"Obviously the friendship between the United States and Japan is extraordinarily important to our country. It is for that reason that the prime minister is the first foreign dignitary to visit me here in the Oval Office. I think it's a testimony to the strong partnership between the United States and Japan.
"Do I have to say something?'' the prime minister asked. "On behalf of not only Japan but as a nation, we are very honored to be here as the first of foreign guests.
"Nowadays there are so many issues we will have to (address), and we as a No. 1 and second biggest economies of the world, we will have to work together, hand in hand.''
Comments
Yes...Elvis diplomacy will be sorely missed.
Posted by: bill r. | February 24, 2009 12:30 PM
Obama's ceremonial first visit from a foreign leader is with an unpopular PM who will most likely be gone in a matter of months?
Is this another vetting screw-up from the White House?
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | February 24, 2009 12:43 PM
Elvis is gone?
Posted by: Flo | February 24, 2009 1:20 PM
I heard he was at the 7-11 Flo!
Posted by: bill r. | February 24, 2009 1:34 PM
There was an Elvis sighting at a bowling alley oustide Memphis, just last week.
Posted by: Doug R. | February 24, 2009 2:25 PM
Mr. Obama could hardly have mentioned Elvis, knowing as he surely did, that the current Japanese Prime Minister is neither a friend or even an admirer of Koizumi, let alone a super Elvis fan. But the fact that Graceland is the only private home, other than the White House and the various Presidential retreats, to ever host a meeting between a sitting US President and a Prime
Minister of a foreign country is already in the books, so who cares if these two did not speak about the King?
Posted by: Jim Burrows | February 24, 2009 7:56 PM
Presidents come and go. Elvis will never leave the building.
Posted by: Brian Quinn | February 25, 2009 10:56 AM
Right Brian, and certainly not in the forseeable future. Check this out. Since the internet gave us google search engine, Elvis has been overshadowed (in the number of responses to a google search), by the current US president, whoever that person may have been, namely from Clinton to Bush, and now by Obama.
But all that a president has to do, to get back below Presley, in terms of how many google replies there is to his name, is for his Administration to be replaced by that of the next President, and this applies not just in respect of the normal google search engine, but includes "google images" and "google news".
In 1994, I sized Presley against Clinton. The President had at least 10 million, versus 5 million by Elvis.
By 2001, Presley was getting 35 million replies, with Clinton getting less than 20 million. Bush, who was the President, had 70 million.
Today, Presley gets in excess of 53 million, with Bush now getting 46 million, and with Obama getting 124 million.
When Obama leaves office, he'll surely be behind Elvis, as it has been the case with all former US Presidents since google searches begin...
Posted by: Jim Burrows | February 25, 2009 4:21 PM