Graceland's Big Day - Bush greets Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi
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Bush talked of the close ties between the two countries that were at war just over 60 years ago, and thanked Koizumi for his willingness to back him on Iraq and other issues.
But quickly getting to the real purpose of the Japanese leader's state visit, Bush added: 'Officially, he's here to see the President ? but I know the highlight of his visit will be paying his respects to the King', referring to their trip to Graceland on Friday.
Koizumi spoke of his deep friendship with and trust of the President in his remarks.
Two hours later, in a joint press conference in the East Room, the president and Bush both referred repeatedly to the Graceland visit. In his opening remarks, Bush noted that he had given Koizumi an Elvis-themed gift.
The exchange went like this:
Bush: 'And, plus, as you all know, it's become quite well-known that we're going to visit Graceland tomorrow. He's an Elvis fan. Laura and I gave him a jukebox as a gift, and I can't -- what was the first song you put on? It wasn't Hound Dog', it was --
Koizumi: 'I Want You, I Need You, I Love You'.
Bush: 'See, he loves Elvis, and I couldn't think of a better way to honor my friend (than) by going to Graceland. But it also sends a signal about how close our relationship is'.
Taking his first question from the Associated Press's Terry Hunt, Bush told the reporter he was reminded of 'one of Elvis' greatest songs, Don't Be Cruel'. So keep that in mind, Hunt, when you ask your question'.
After taking some questions, including two from Japanese reporters traveling with him, Koizumi ended the press conference with another Elvisism.
'Thank you very much, American people, for Love Me Tender'.
Graceland's Big Day
Graceland has new paint on the fences, freshly trimmed bushes and a cleaning job worthy of heads of state.
'Every little detail will be pristine', said Graceland chief executive officer Jack Soden. 'There's the joke that you ought to have a big party at your house at least once a year, because if you've got really important guests coming you go the extra step to make sure everything is perfect'.
For Soden, who has greeted 15 million guests in 24 years, 'the fact is nobody can remember a day like this one'.
President George Bush and first lady Laura Bush are accompanying Japan's No. 1 Elvis fan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, on a tour of Graceland.
It is the first Graceland tour by a sitting U.S. president. Former president Jimmy Carter, who had left office, visited during his daughter's graduation from Memphis College of Art in 1991. That was on a winter day, a Tuesday, when the mansion was closed, said Graceland spokesman Todd Morgan.
Morgan said Koizumi's visit will include eight rooms in the 15-room mansion with Koizumi seeing what other Elvis fans see. The distinction is that the mansion will be closed to other guests until about 12:30 p.m. while Priscilla Presley and daughter Lisa Marie Presley conduct the tour with Soden and Morgan -- all under the scrutiny of security teams from the White House and the Japanese Embassy.
Morgan could not discuss security, but he said advance teams have been busy for several weeks 'doing all of the things you would expect. It feels like we're living in an episode of 'The West Wing'. '
He said Koizumi is not fluent in English and will use a translator regularly used by the White House for meetings with the prime minister. Graceland's pre-recorded audio tour is offered in Japanese, but Morgan said, 'It was determined by all parties it would be a much more enjoyable experience to be a conversational tour with no headsets'.
Morgan said he is unsure who else might accompany Koizumi, but Soden said the prime minister's brother, Masaya Koizumi, is a likely guest. He said the brother helped organize installation of an Elvis statue in a Tokyo park.
One Japanese newspaper correspondent offered to coach Soden on appropriate Japanese phrases to use in greeting Koizumi, but Soden declined the offer. 'With my luck, I would think I had it down, then screw it up', he said.
Morgan said it is traditional to offer gifts to visiting dignitaries. Graceland, one of the nation's busiest licensing agents, has hundreds of options from key chains and Teddy bears to leather jackets and a jukebox. Morgan said Graceland staff members were still debating Thursday what to present the Bushes and Koizumi. 'If we told ahead of time it wouldn't be a surprise', he said, declining to be more specific about gifts being considered.
As for the tour itself, Morgan said it will include the living room, music room, dining room, the Vernon and Gladys Presley bedroom, the kitchen, the pool room, the TV room, and the infamous Jungle Room. It will not include the upstairs which has the Elvis bedroom, a study, a 'wardrobe room' and Lisa Marie Presley's nursery.
Beyond the house, the tour includes trophy and racquetball buildings, Vernon Presley's office and smaller exhibit areas. Those exterior buildings include Elvis' gold records and jumpsuits.
Regular tourists will be delayed by the prime minister's tour with tours of Graceland resuming at 12:30 p.m. The Elvis car museum in the Graceland Plaza shopping complex is being used as a national media center with public tours resuming there at 2 p.m. All other attractions will be open all day as usual.
Morgan said the visit is 'a very big day for us, not just professionally but personally. It's really special. Elvis has such universal appeal. These people go everywhere and meet everybody'.
'They lead fascinating lives, but it doesn't matter where they're from or what walk of life they're from, they still appreciate Elvis'.
'Elvis theme' for Air Force One today
In theory, the Elvis pilgrimage is something of a parting gift for Junichiro Koizumi, who steps down in the fall. Koizumi is such a big Presley fan that he selected his own favorite tracks for a Japanese CD. For his part, President Bush cares so little about music that he entrusts his iPod selections to his old friend, music junkie Mark McKinnon.
But even more important than the journey to Memphis is what the trip says about Bush's exceptionally personal form of diplomacy. Bush's foreign policy aides insist that the idea for a Graceland visit came from the president himself, not from Koizumi. 'About a year ago, the president started saying to us as staff, 'I would like to take him to Graceland', and we all thought he might be joking', said one senior administration official, who insisted on anonymity in talking about Bush's foreign-policy discussions. 'But as he repeated it several times to us, we realized he indeed thought it was a great thing to do'.The result is an Elvis-themed day on Friday, complete with Elvis movies on Air Force One and a strategic opportunity for Koizumi to go karaoke. 'I imagine that Koizumi may pick up a mike somewhere along the way', the senior Bush aide said. 'He does sing Elvis songs'.
Of course the White House would like you to know that it's not all play. There will be extensive talks about North Korea, Iran and Iraq. And even the fun stuff can have a greater meaning: in Memphis, the two leaders will eat some of the city's finest barbecue. Given the Japanese ban on U.S. beef because of concerns about mad-cow disease, the mere sight of Koizumi eating American meat is a symbolic stamp of approval.
As trivial as it sounds, there are certain strengths to this kind of one-on-one diplomacy. There's little doubt among Japan analysts that the close relationship between Bush and Koizumi has been critical in improving relations between the United States and Japan. After the economic rivalries of the 1980s and the Japanese stagnation of the 1990s, the Koizumi-Bush era looks like a golden one. Both the pres and the PM mentioned Elvis in their joint press conference yesterday
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