The Bush Administration Gets Pricey Gifts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 9th 2007 at 2:02PM

The official record of gifts given to President Bush last year reveals that he got some very luxurious gifts. The top gifts include an $11,000 Cartier Santos Dumont watch, given to Bush in April 2006 by Thailand's prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra and a pair of black leather Hungarian riding boots stitched with an off-white leather "W" from Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. Bush has also received more standard gifts such as silver plates, cufflinks and vases.

The President isn't the only one hauling in the gifts, the First Lady received a silver sculpture from a Mexican governor, a cashmere shawl, silk scarves and many books and jewelry items last year. Condoleezza Rice has gotten gifts of white gold and diamond jewelry from Saudi King Abdullah worth a total of $32.000 in 2006. Saudi Arabia also doled out gifts to gifts to Vice President Dick Cheney, Cheney's wife and members of Cheney's staff, and various members of the State Department. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, also ggot a a Cartier watch from the attorney general's office in Qatar.

The National Archives and Records Administration stores gifts to the president, the vice president and member of their families. The AP reports that under a 2006 rule, recipients may not keep gifts from foreign officials that are worth more than $305 but they are accepted on behalf of the American people.

Tags: george bush, GeorgeBush, government, laura bush, politics