Bushes Send Out Christmas-Themed Hannukah Card

The New York Post reports:

Merry Hanukkah from the White House!

The president and the first lady invited leaders of America's Jewish community for a Hanukkah reception at the White House next month - but raised more than a few eyebrows by putting a picture of a Christmas tree on the invitation.

DCist adds that the First Lady's spokesperson apologized on Laura Bush's behalf.

Comments

[bubbuh]

if you turn the card upside down, it's a Satan tree.

[jbs902]

I guess it's a Hannukah Bush :)

[yappnmutt]

that's not a christmas tree! that's a holiday tree!

[MorpheusXNYC]

Winter Soltice tree, to be exact,. ;-)

[daedelus]

And all these years I've been calling it a Christmas tree. I feel so foolish.

[MyDadLovesReagan]

Josh Brolin's version of Bush is much more charismatic than real thing. You could never see that character being dumb enough to send out a card like this. Look at his rapport with the troops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM5xizWb4rM

[bubbuh]

Maybe, Josh Brolin could fill in for the next couple of months.

[RJII]

he's just so lame.

[tbrnotb]

Interesting that unstuckintime, psumarcopolo, illinidem and The Wombat all just decided to post.....this month and on this thread.........more trolls adding a little holiday mischief. I guess we're far enough from the elction for them to lift their little heads out of their ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[illinidem]

who cares, doesn't the huffington post have anything better to do than call out the president on something as little as a pine tree which really has nothing to do with his evangelical christian faith?

sick.

[tbrnotb]

Sorry, illinidem, but it does matter. It's about respect and perception. Something that's kind of important these days. Are you're sure you're not illinirep?

[illinidem]

its really not a partisan issue. barack obama is my boss and has been since... before you knew his name in the il ga.

[LegalCat]

The actual reason that Jews -- some Jews, anyway -- find Christmas trees disturbing isn't that they're Christian; it's that they're German. To my father, who grew up in Germany, the tannenbaum was one step short of being a Nazi symbol. It's like dirndls and Bavarian hats and lederhosen and big ornamental beer steins: it's a symbol of mainstream German culture that a certain generation of European Jews will always connect with the Nazis. And that's really where the offensiveness came from, but it doesn't really bother those of us who didn't grow up in Germany in the 30's.

[drcrank]

There's really nothing left to say...

[Internaut]

I'm guessing Bush is a J.e.w. for J.e.sus.

[bubbuh]

Not bad

[christopherflynn]

Jesus certainly wouldn't be a Jew for bush...

[faithnj]

........amen to that.

[kylennblack]

Once again the Bushes show they have a cultural tin ear. Surprise.

[TheWombat]

All you PC do-gooders, please tell me this:

how much 'outrage' would it cause if a Rabbi sent a Christmas card with a Star of David on it?

NONE! You're meant to have freedom of religion, not enslavement to tip-toe around the über-delicate feelings of others.

[NYC07]

Gee , as Christ was Jewish how would that be offensive ?????

[TheWombat]

Fine. If the PM of Iraq gave the US ambassador a Xmas card with a crescent on it, would Christians be give a hoot?

And anyway, it's just a Xmas tree. Not a cross, or a nativity scene.

[juanjo]

Sorry Wombat but as a Jew I have to tell you I am sick of Christians trashing us and our faith, either intentionally or because they could not be bothered to find out what is appropriate. A Rabbi is highly unlikely to send out "Christmas" cards or at least any rabbis I know. Christmas trees whatever their origin are irrevocably associated with the celebration of a Christian religious holiday. I have no objection to Christians celebrating Christmas but I do not and I have no intention of doing so. I would find it highly offensive if someone sent me an invitation to a Channukah "reception" and put Christian religious symbols on it. I have a feeling you would be less than happy if someone sent you an invitation to a Christmas party which featured a large Islamic green crescent moon on it.

The real issue is that the protocol people at the White House are so dense that they would allow something like this to be printed and sent out. It shows an incredible sloppiness and lack of attention to details that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration.

[TheWombat]

Dense - yes. Offensive - no. It's not like they're mocking Judaism.
I am no Christian and do not like the religious connotations of Christmas - but it's the festival that counts. Ask anybody what the significance of the tree is and the likely answer will be a shrug and a mumble. It's a wonderful time of the year all around the western world that people of all religions enjoy as a time to spend with family and friends, and not have to work.
At this time of year, I wish all people a Merry Xmas - because it's a happy time of year for everybody. This whole "Happy Holidays" crap is an embarrassment to a society that celebrates freedom.

You are right that it was a very avoidable mistake to make - but please it's just a tree.

[faithnj]

RE: "It shows an incredible sloppiness and lack of attention to details that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration."

Frankly....I'm a Christian, but I think they did it on purpose. I think they very well knew it was inappropriate, and it was an underhanded attempt to mock Channukah. But that's jmo.

[Birdman]

Freedom of RELIGION is also FREEDOM FROM RELIGION get a clue. It is being polite to respect others as well as their religion. I guess being polite is something lost on you and the current generation. The whole idea is this. lets say that the Queen of England sent Members of congress a Union Jack on the 4th of July? This is no less insulting.

[janinei]

read your comment... a Rabbi sent a Christmas card... ah, is that intentional or what??

[stephanemot]

Yes we Hanukkahn ?

[bubbuh]

I kkahn, you kkahn, Hannu kkahn, too. Bush kkahnt.

[alieninvader]

Maybe a Star of David will top the Christmas tree on their Christmas cards.

[Pragman]

A decorated fir tree is no less a symbol of Hanukkah than a symbol of Christmas.

Both religious holidays are subsets of the broader Winter Solstice observances, and the Tannenbaum is the symbol of the universal Holiday season at large.

[alieninvader]

Maybe the Bushes will hire you to explain that to all the offended people who received the card.

[tbrnotb]

It's not that it's so offensive as it is tasteless.

[Jeff1958]

No, Hannukah has nothing to do with a winter solstice celebration. It has to do with celebrating a survival over religious persecution in a place where there are no fir trees. A tree of any kind has NOTHING to do with Hanukkah. It has everything to do with Chiristmas. That's why they call them Christmas trees.

[starrianna]

The Bushes, both of them, truly enjoy being Grade-A As*holes.

[psumarkopolo]

Is it a conclusion on this board bush did this on purpose? I think he did not. As a Christian I know he is in his heart a good man, and misunderstood by a lot of people

[alieninvader]

I don't believe the conclusion is that he did it on purpose, but it's also not believed that he's misunderstood or that he's a good man.

[harriettubman]

No, I don't think he intentionally did it. His social secretary should've caught this mistake. It was an honest mistake.

[BlackWidowPilot]

Christian is as Christian does, Mark.

"Thou shalt not bear false witness" was not a suggestion, yet this President has uttered hundreds of *documented* falsehoods, outright lies on Iraq alone.

Or is Dubya merely "misunderstood?" Or delusional?

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

PROTESTant

[daedelus]

Do you mean that you as a Christian know that he is good or that he as a Christian is good. Either way you're being unacceptably presumptuous.