Handshakes across the water!
President Obama toasted Chinese President Hu, the 1st Lady looked stunning in a red silk organza gown with delicate black flourishes, and the tony elite nibbled on a five-course dinner (before saunering off for an evening of live entertainment) under a distinguished-looking three-quarter-length portrait of President Lincoln who stared down on the goings-on from a far wall.
The occasion?
Why - a State dinner at the White House in honor of Chinese President Hu who is currently visiting these shores - of course!
There was a lot of pomp and circumstance throughout the course of the heady evening, too!
President Obama saluted the people of both Nations on the auspicious occasion, for starters.
"May they (the Chinese & the Americans) grow together in friendship. May they prosper together in peace. And may they realize their dream of the future for themselves, for their children and for their grandchildren," he stressed with great poignancy.
The glittering affair was attended by the "Who's Who" of American Society.
Well, supporters of the Democrats, to be sure!
Former Presidents Clinton and Carter were spied mingling among a host of celebrated luminaries who dressed-to-the-nines for the dazzling don't-miss event.
Mainstays on the political scene - Henry Kissinger and Madelaine Albright, for instance - put in appearances, too.
Not to be outdone, the Hollywood red-carpet-crowd turned out in full force to get up-close-and-personal with power brokers on Washington Hill.
The guest list included - Barbra Streisand, Vogue Editor Anna Wintour, Cellist Yo-You Ma, film star Jackie Chan, Fashion Designer Vera Wang, and Walt Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger - to name a few.
The rarefied uppercrust who attended supped on a menu featuring mouth-watering entrees such as Maine Lobster and dry-aged rib-eye.
"Typically American," according to White House officials.
In spite of growing controversy in recent years over China's use of dangerous lead in children's toy exports, the shameful shunning of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a tendency to use real animal fur in fashion offerings to the dismay of animal activists, and allegations of unfair competition by U.S. Lawmakers - most scrambled at the opportunity to sashay into the tony affair.
When Barbra Streisand was asked how she wangled an invite, she allegedly quipped to a reporter:
"I used to work at a Chinese restaurant."
Ooops!
I wonder how the Chinese feel about the stereo-type and being slighted by big-bucks-bab?
I expect there will also be an outcry later in the week when an investigative journalist turns in on a report on the cost of the Hu dinner during these tough economic times.
News at 11!
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