Her successor hasn’t been elected, not in the next 460-plus days yet.
So outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is finally getting her chance to have a face-to-face with 44th U.S. President Barack Obama.
It won’t be a one-on-one though, but at least it will be over breakfast.
Through unidentified back channels Malacanang is saying Mrs. Arroyo “has been invited” to sit with other leaders at Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast Mr. Obama is hosting at the White House.
The Palace By The Pasig is properly exulting over this ‘success’ as it will finally add a positive mark to her handlers’ the track record in booking a meeting for their boss with Obama.
Getting her invited to the National Prayer Breakfast is certainly better than the Filipino leader being roused from bed to take a late late evening phone call from the US leader.
Mrs. Arroyo is diverting her chartered Philippine Airlines jet from Bahrain to Washington D.C. so she can partake of the presidential breakfast prepared by Filipina White House executive chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford.
Who knows, there might even be a slight, slight chance of a small one-on-one chitchat with Barack who is 14 years her junior (Obama is 47 years old while GMA will be turning 61 in April).
I doubt, however, if Mrs. Arroyo will have time to “teach” Mr. Barack lessons in governance.
In like manner, I guess Pres. Obama will not be as bold as to say “unclench your fist” to GMA’s face.
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Ermita must prepare the lessons for Presidency 101 which PGMA will impart to Obama after that breakfast meeting along with more self-confident leaders of the more developed societies.
Did Obama actually invite GMA to attend that meeting or the PR handlers just want to make pogi points for their president?
After that meeting, PGMA will make a mountain out of a small hill – tell us that it achieved a lot by way of more pledges, more help, more aid, more military surplus, more US bases, more dollars coming into the country.
In other words, PGMA will just go through the ritual to justify whatever she may wish to tell us.
We hope the meeting will be cordial…
nagbaon ba siya ng immodium?
karpopper,
The Malacanang announcement, attributed to new press secretary Remonde did not clarify who did issue the invitation but did say mrs. Arroyo was informed of the invitation through official channels. The information I am getting is the invite was coursed through the DFA.
Here’s a brief update on the event, as reported today in Malaya:
“Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Arroyo has “formally” accepted the invitation of a group of US lawmakers to attend the breakfast forum and that talks between the organizers and the foreign affairs department had been ongoing since October last year.
Remonde said the National Prayer Breakfast happens every first Thursday of February and was founded by Frank Carlson, a former US congressman, governor ,and senator from Kansas, the Hiltons of the Hilton International chain and Billy Graham.
He said the event, which is a series of meetings, luncheons and dinners, has taken place since 1953 and has been held since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut ave. in Washington D.C.
He said the breakfast held at the Hilton’s International Ballroom is attended by some 3,500 guests, hosted by members of the US Congress, and organized on their behalf by the Fellowship Foundation.”
Set the point clear – GMA attends the meeting – upon the invitation of a US congressman, founder of the event.
In its spin, it was made to appear that Obama did invite GMA when to the contrary. In the end, GMA meets with 3,500 guests of the event,and if only by accident, might have a brief chat with the guest speaker Obama – more like a metallic pebble caught into a bigger, stronger magnet – that is Obama.
So why does the teacher tends toward the student rather than the other way around?
so it has come to pass…GMA got no face time with barack afterall…tony blair (another has-been politician) bizarrely gets to sit with barack and delivers a speech to boot!
but looking at the front tables, GMA must have been sat far far far in the back as she could not be seen in any of the news footages…asa pa kasi ang maldita..
She was in the outside gallery with the rest of the “corrupt leaders with clenched fists”. I think the World Bank Bid-Rigging Scandal has blown a hole in her tire. The trick will be how the Philippines gets its seat at the world’s table at a time when its President is quickly attaining world class pariah status. I mean Corruption Queen of Asia –she is!
FInally she can give obama her secrets on how to govern a country bwahahahaha
Ding,
You failed in your prediction that GMA gets to meet Obama finally.
What confidence is GMA able to carry along with her knowing too well that Obama knew about the World Bank report?
Ermita did not even believe that RP is the one, among others perhaps, being alluded to in Obama’s inaugural speech.
what’s the big fuzz over meeting obama? he’s got troubles up to his eyes. meeting him will not affect the price of rice in tuguegarao, to borrow jeg’s phrase.
KP,
You misread my post. Did I predict categorically? I said her handlers would score if the meeting did take place. That it did not says volumes.