WASHINGTON — For once, the crowds that gathered Monday outside the White House were not carrying antiwar placards or shouting angry slogans. Instead, on a sunny spring day that contrasted with the dark mood of partisan discord that normally clouds Washington, they cheered loudly for President Bush and for the regal woman by his side, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
A large crowd that included about 370 children from a local charter school and the British School of Washington gathered in front of the White House, hoping for a glimpse of the president and his royal visitor. When they appeared, and even ventured outside the tall fence, the screams evoked those that typically greet the latest teen heartthrob.
"I was just so excited," said Shayla Young, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at IDEA Charter School, who got close enough to hug Bush, shouted "Oh my God! Aaaaah!" and then did a faux faint behind a railing.
Agreed Bob Brooks, a retired federal employee: "Americans are so impressed with royalty."
Gone, at least for the day, were the tense encounters between Bush and Democratic leaders of Congress, tussling over the war and economic priorities.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was a guest at the gala state dinner Monday night, though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declined his invitation because, his spokesman said, "he's not really a white tails and dinner sort of guy and would just as soon spend a nice quiet dinner with his wife."
In place of political standoffs was a pageant of pomp and circumstance, full of such moments as the Army's Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps parading on the South Lawn in uniforms patterned after those of George Washington's Continental Army.
'In 17 -- in 1976'
In the morning, the queen was welcomed to the White House with an official arrival ceremony as thousands of invited guests cheered; in the evening, she was feted with a five-course, white-tie dinner -- the first of the Bush administration -- in the State Dining Room, with more than 800 white roses capping elegant tables swathed in cream damask and set with gilded silver.
Even the president -- a self-described down-home Texan who prefers barbecue to chateaubriand and had to be persuaded by his wife and his secretary of State to don white tie and tails for the night -- seemed to revel in the respite from controversy. He was grinning broadly after he escorted the queen across Lafayette Park to Blair House, the official guest house where she and her husband, Prince Philip, are staying during their two-day visit.
"The American people are proud to welcome Your Majesty back to the United States, a nation you've come to know very well," Bush said during the South Lawn arrival ceremony. Noting that she has dined with 10 U.S. presidents, he thanked the queen for the trip in which "you helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- in 1976."
About 7,000 flag-waving Americans and Brits laughed as Bush recovered from his flub. Giving the queen an "aw-shucks" grin, he ad-libbed, "She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child."
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was delighted. "It's a pretty cool day, you know?" he said. "The pageantry -- and there you saw the president joking with the queen -- I don't know that a lot of people joke with the queen, but the president did. It worked out just fine."
Pulling out the stops
Despite the aura of goodwill that washed over the day, dissension over Iraq policy was never far away. Bush alluded to the war in his welcoming remarks, noting that "American and British forces are staying on the offense against the extremists and terrorists." For her part, the queen said that a state visit offered "a brief opportunity to step back from our current preoccupations to reflect on the very essence of our relationship."
But for all the talk of alliances and enemies, the White House pulled out all the stops to ensure that, perhaps for the first time since Democrats won control of Congress in November, the White House oozed with a sunny optimism.
"We've done everything we can think of to do to make it really a wonderful evening for her," Laura Bush told ABC's "Good Morning America." "And I know the American people are thrilled that she's here in the United States. It's a happy occasion."
Guests for the dinner included Calvin Borel, the winning jockey in this year's Kentucky Derby, which the queen attended Saturday; Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts; and former first lady Nancy Reagan. The after-dinner entertainment was provided by violinist Itzhak Perlman and the U.S. Army Chorus.
Mrs. Bush wore an aqua strapless gown with matching beaded bolero jacket designed by Oscar de la Renta. The last time she wore de la Renta, she walked into a White House reception for the Kennedy Center Honors only to discover three other women wearing the same red gown. This time, she stood apart.
Toasts to a friendship
