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CNN Live At Daybreak
Proper State Dining Etiquette
Aired September 05, 2001 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now we want to be a fly on the wall tonight as the big state dinner and someone who knows how to plan one is etiquette specialist Letitia Baldrige. She served for three years as social secretary to First Lady Jackie Kennedy and one of her duties was planning state dinners. And she joins us from Washington. Good morning, Ms. Baldrige.
LETITIA BALDRIGE, ETIQUETTE SPECIALIST: Good morning, Carol.
LIN: How critical are these state dinners to setting the tone?
BALDRIGE: Well, you know, they're a social event but they mean a lot to both countries, really. People read the newspapers in Mexico to see how their president did and how their first lady looked. We eagerly see how our president and first lady looks. It's a time of grace, it's a time of serenity and excitement, too. It's a time where two countries really join hands and celebrate. It's a terrific event.
LIN: And you did not spare the rod, frankly, in talking about some of the Clinton state dinners. You did mention one with over 700 guests. I think it was the state dinner for India. Do you think -- it's going to be a very different tone. I mean you described it as a mob scene...
BALDRIGE: Well, they have a...
LIN: ... of people, you know, searching for their seats in the dining room.
BALDRIGE: Yes. Well, if you have that many people it's hard to handle. But I think hopefully the Bushes will have it back down to 120 or something of that nature. The guests are treated beautifully. They have to be well dressed. They have to make good conversation. They should make good conservative. They should be on their best manners and they're going to enjoy a fantastic dinner cooked by the White House chef with great wines and after dinner entertainment. We don't know what that's going to be, but in the Kennedy years it was always unbelievable. Somebody like Pablo Casals with his cello and the New York Ballet and opera and the stage, theater.
So it's a night of great celebration and it's fun. They do have fun. And we have two presidents who understand each other's language. The Bushes speak Spanish and, of course, the Foxes speak English. So there's no problem of semantics. LIN: Lovely.
BALDRIGE: But that means a lot to the Mexican people to have the president of the United States speaking Spanish.
LIN: Absolutely. You know, we were just looking while you were speaking at some pictures from state dinners of long ago with Jackie Kennedy and her husband JFK.
BALDRIGE: Oh, always...
LIN: It just looked so elegant. It's just not something that the tone, even the clothes, it just doesn't seem like something that we see today.
BALDRIGE: Well, we don't see it today but it was a part of history and I don't think it'll be, I think it'll be a while before we see it again. But those two were always so exquisitely dressed. People fought so hard to get asked to the state dinners. I remember a senator who called me up and said that if he didn't get invited to the state dinner with his wife, his wife was going to divorce him.
LIN: Oh, my.
BALDRIGE: So I went over the...
LIN: Well, who does get invited?
BALDRIGE: I went over to the wife...
LIN: I mean how do you get an invitation?
BALDRIGE: Well, we sent him an invitation. The president said we've got to send him an invitation. We can't stand in the way of their marriage. But that's the kind of pressure they apply to get invited to these state dinners.
LIN: Oh, a lot of arm twisting, huh? Well, what about the...
BALDRIGE: Businessmen, businessmen who do business for Mexico, I mean they were all lobbying to get invited. All of the people who gave great contributions to the party lobby to get invited. I mean there's a mass lobbying going on, hey, I want one of those invitations.
LIN: Oh my gosh, and can you imagine the table seating political nightmare it must be over who sits next to who?
BALDRIGE: Well, it is, but they've got a great social secretary handling that. She's an old pro. And they have the State Department helping with the protocol. There are a lot of people who get, chip in and make this thing a success. The White House is the top house in the land. There's nothing more awesome, more beautiful and more historic. It's a great place.
LIN: And it's never too early to start preparing. In fact, we're looking at a live picture right now of the south lawn of the White House where the official ceremony, the greeting between the two world leaders, will take place at 10:00 Eastern today. What is the closest to disaster, social disaster, that you've heard of any administration coming to when it comes to a state dinner?
BALDRIGE: Well, I think that one of the great disasters is when the head of state doesn't get there on time. That's a disaster. And when the weather is terrible and you're out of doors, that's a disaster. But mostly these things are thought out ahead and unless Mother Nature interferes it goes very smoothly. And people, and they cover things up. Things happen at the White House that are bad but they cover it up.
LIN: Well, they should be network anchors.
Thank you very much, Letitia Baldrige. We know how to wing it here at CNN. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
BALDRIGE: Thanks for having me.
LIN: A little tidbit to our viewers, we heard that the White House chef just got back from vacation yesterday, so talk about cutting it close.
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