The Washington Post's Monica Hesse and Roxanne Roberts report that Thursday night's state dinner — the fifth one the Obamas have hosted — was marked by a thunderous downpour, but guests' spirits were undampened.
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In his predinner toast, the president said, "I'm going to be brief because President Lee has had a very full day — and a very wet day."
Once everyone dried off, South Korean President Lee-Myung-bak spoke about the "everlasting friendship" between his country and the United States to a crowd that the Post describes as "short on glitz, heavy on political clout," with an unusual number of administration officials in attendance.
As is tradition, messy political conversations were set aside for the evening. But that didn't keep House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) from turning down the president's state-dinner invitation for the fifth time. He missed Michelle Obama in a purple, one-shouldered gown by Doo-Ri Chung (a Korean American designer), a few Korean American celebrities, a "fall harvest"-themed menu and performances by Janelle Monae and the Ahn Trio, the Korean American classical-music sister duo.
Check out the Washington Post's photo gallery of the event.
Read more at the Washington Post.
In other news: Reports: Rick Ross Stable After Seizure.
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