The invitation to the White House Chanukah reception sports a Christmas tree. The picture features a horse pulling a Christmas tree on a wagon traveling in front of the White House. The wagon bears a sign reading “White House Christmas Tree 2008,” the New York Post reported.
The invitation was for an annual Chanukah reception for leaders of the Jewish community, hosted by the president and first lady.
“Mrs. Bush is apologetic,” Laura Bush’s spokeswoman, Sally McDonough said. “It is something that just slipped through the cracks.”
An invitation featuring a menorah given to the White House during the Truman administration was to be sent out, UPI reported.
The Orthodox Union dismissed the gaffe as being overblown.
“To make this — or any president’s — gracious hospitality the subject of jest is chutzpah of the highest order,” said an entry on the OU blog. — jta