Obama's Play Christie "Like a Fiddle" at Governor's Dinner

February 25, 2013

Best seat in the (White) house! Chris Christie gets chair of honor next to first lady Michelle during annual governors' dinner


Gov. Chris Christie got the seat of honor at tonight’s annual governor’s dinner, sitting next to first lady Michelle Obama.

The New Jersey governor, a Republican, joined governors from across the nation at the annual Governor’s Association Meeting, and at one point, clinked glasses with the president’s wife.

Mr Obama had praised Gov. Christie for his response to Hurricane Sandy and his effort to get funding to those who were most affected by last October’s storm.

Seat of honor: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sits next to first lady Michelle Obama during the annual Governor's Dinner at the White House on Sunday evening

Cheers: The first lady and Gov. Christie clinked wine glasses during a toast

First in fashion: Mrs Obama wore a custom-made Naeem Khan beaded gown to the event

The event allowed the governors to loosen up and take a break from their deliberations about issues facing their respective states and was held in the State Room of the White House.

For the night’s festivities, Mrs Obama wore a custom-made Naeem Khan beaded gown with her hair swept up in an elegant updo with her new fringe worn elegantly over her eyes.

Gov. Christie opted for a traditional tuxedo with white tie.

Throughout the evening, the two were pictured smiling and laughing, and at one point, clinked their glasses together in a toast.

During the meeting, Mr Obama called on governors of both parties to work with him, though he did not directly refer to the looming federal budget cuts.

‘We’ve got more work to do,’ the president said.

Toasting: President Obama
laughs as a governor delivers
a rhyming toast

He is expected to discuss the budget stalemate with governors during a Monday meeting at the White House.

The president says he's looking for 'good partners' among Republican and Democrat governors from across the nation.

Congress has until Friday to prevent a series of automatic cuts expected to clog air travel, reduce education funding, and furlough hundreds of thousands of government workers and contractors.

 And makes a toast himself
during the dinner

He is expected to discuss the budget stalemate with governors during a Monday meeting at the White House.

The president says he's looking for 'good partners' among Republican and Democrat governors from across the nation.

Congress has until Friday to prevent a series of automatic cuts expected to clog air travel, reduce education funding, and furlough hundreds of thousands of government workers and contractors.

But the president kept his brief remarks apolitical, and did not mention the impending sequester.

Raising a glass: The president looks serious as he raises his glass; he is expected to talk about the looming federal budget cuts tomorrow

Formal affair: The Governors' Dinner was held in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington

'We know we've got more work to do, more jobs to create, more children to educate, more roads to repair. The task before us is to find smart, common sense solutions to each of these challenges that we can move forward on,' Mr Obama said.

On average, government programs subject to the cuts provide 6.6 percent of states' revenues, according to Pew Center on the States.

States closest to the nation's capital and in the South will be hardest hit, an analysis by Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group last week found.

On Sunday, the White House issued two pages of sequester cuts for each state, and said more details will be released through the week.

source: Daily Mail UK