"White House Sends Chanukah Card With Christmas Tree On It"
Brett may not care, and I don't really "care" and think it is actually pretty funny but I care because it just shows a lack of attention to anything not Christmas. It was the fault of whoever put the art on the work order and did Laura Bush have final approval?
Why is the White House so decorated for Christmas and then we have the token Chanukah party and the little menorah behind the tree? Brett says well they didn't put a picture of baby Jesus. Actually I think baby Jesus has more to do with Christmas than a Christmas tree :-).
We go through this every year. This year, the UNC libraries decided to keep the Christmas Trees packed. I agree with this decision. I wish the REX Wellness Center in Raleigh would do the same. They don't even make an attempt to put out a token Menorah. I like that they collect toys for tots gifts but they could loose the tree.
The Bush family really can't win these days.
Not only is the sitting President receiving blame for Republican losses on Election Day, but first lady Laura is getting flak for a farkakteh (pronounced "fuh-kahk-tuh") Chanukah card that had a picture of a Christmas tree on it.
While its fun to make fun of this kind of thing, I have to admit that I don't really care. It certainly is a mistake and shows certain cluelessness on the part of the First Lady's staff, or at least a lack of organizing skills (shouldn't someone have looked at the card first?). But this isn't exactly Hunter Gibson (Mel's dad) denying that the Holocaust actually happened. Also, the card didn't have a picture of the Baby Jesus on it. It was just a tree. (For the record, apologies were quickly offered. Faces, already covered with egg, were red. Feet were in mouths.)
So was it a bit dense for the White House to send a Chanukah card that didn't have a Chanukah image on it? Sure. But is it really that offensive? I don't think so. I'm Jewish, and I happen to like Christmas trees. That's a topic for another post, but for now, I'm not ready to add CardGate to the list of Bush Administration screw-ups.
White House apologizes for Hanukkah cards
WASHINGTON, Nov 27, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Bush administration spokeswoman said the invitations to this year's White House Hanukkah reception bore images of Christmas trees due to a "staff mistake."
Press Secretary Sally McDonough said staff members erred in failing to print separate cards for invitations to the different holiday events at the White House, CNN reported Thursday.
The cards, which were sent to U.S. Jewish leaders, are emblazoned with an image of the White House Christmas tree being pulled by a horse-drawn cart with a Christmas wreath tacked on to the White House in the background.
"Mrs. Bush is apologetic, It is just something that fell through the cracks," McDonough said.
She said the intended Hanukkah invitations, which bear the image of a menorah given to the White House during the Harry Truman administration, would be sent out Thursday.
URL: www.upi.com
