The "Alfalfa Conspiracy." I knew it, I knew it!
Bush Family Has Big Turnout at Gathering
By Associated Press - LA Times
8:31 PM PST, January 24, 2004
WASHINGTON — President Bush and his wife Laura joined his parents, a former president and first lady themselves, Saturday night at the Alfalfa Club dinner, an annual social gathering for influential Washington political and business leaders.
Also in attendance were presidential brothers Jeb and Marvin Bush, White House chief of staff Andy Card, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, the president's top political adviser Karl Rove and national finance chairman Mercer Reynolds.
Typically rife with humorous speeches, including one-liners from the president, the black-tie gala at the Capital Hilton Hotel is attended by the social club's members and their guests but is closed to news media coverage.
Dubbed the Alfalfa Club because the plant's roots will stretch far for liquid refreshment, it exists solely to hold the annual dinner and is often attended by the president and Cabinet members.
Overwhelmingly composed of tuxedo-clad men, the evening was off-limits to women until then-first lady Hillary Clinton broke the barrier in 1994 when she attended with President Clinton.
The club, founded 91 years ago, also inducted its first female members that year, including Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Elizabeth Dole, now North Carolina's Republican senator; and the late Washington Post Co. Chairman Katharine Graham. |
