Posted on 09/10/2010 7:40:38 PM PDT by fightinJAG
IT IS probably the most iconic room on the planet, the centre of world power and presumably the place where a US leader could push the nuclear button.
In the old days, US presidents kept the Oval Office pretty much as they found it. Franklin D Roosevelt’s curtains stayed on through the Eisenhower administration. Eisenhower marred the wooden parquet floor with his golf cleats. [snip]
In a high point of my first year in Washington, I briefly entered the inner sanctum on St Patrick’s Day. About a dozen journalists were brought in at the end of Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s meeting with Barack Obama. Nearly six months later, I can’t remember what the Irish and American leaders said, but I have an indelible memory of Bo, the White House dog, gambolling on the lawn outside.
I stood with my colleagues behind the sofa, almost within arm’s reach of the Leader of the Free World. The atmosphere was one of jovial bonhomie. There wasn’t a scrap of paper on the Resolute Desk, which was built of oak timbers from the HMS Resolute and given by Queen Victoria to Rutherford B Hayes in 1880. The office was much smaller than I’d expected.
The office was redecorated while Barack Obama was on holiday in August. When he gave his “this is not a victory” speech on Iraq on August 31st, Americans glimpsed the new interior for the first time. The Washington Post and the New York Times devoted two pages each to the refit, complete with comparative photographs of the Clinton, Bush and Obama decors, and assessments from the nation’s top designers and political pundits.
George W Bush, whose favourite footwear was cowboy boots, chose Frederic Remington’s bronze Bronco Buster as his signature sculpture. Obama replaced it with
(Excerpt) Read more at irishtimes.com ...
You’re welcome!
At least he didn’t go with his first choice. Hello Kitty.
Man cave??? gag me with a Guinness spoon
Rather ironic that they decorated with a MLK quote that was plagiarized.
Dare I say quite effete, including the martini glasses......
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