Norton Notes State Dinner for Remarkable Informality (11/25/09)

Norton Notes State Dinner for Remarkable Informality

November 25, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), accompanied by her son, John Holmes Norton, last evening attended the Obama's first state dinner under a constructed, enclosed "tent," building on the White House lawn. The reception took place in the East Room of the White House, where Norton, who has also attended State Dinners with the Clintons, was greeted by President and Michelle Obama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his wife, and other special honorees. The Prime minister remembered Norton from her travel to India as part of a Congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2008. The guests descended down the White House steps into the specially assembled tent-like building that was complete with chandeliers and lights that made the stars overhead and trees outside stand out.

Norton said that she was especially impressed by the eloquence of Singh's remarks about America, and about the First Lady in particular, the American Indian dancers from California, and Jennifer Hudson, who Norton said "wailed and blew the roof off the tent." The Congresswoman said, "they call it a State Dinner, but I enjoyed seeing many friends there, and I told the President, in the receiving line, that he seemed so relaxed, particularly considering the load that he's carrying, and that everyone else was feeling equally relaxed and having fun."

Norton wore a black strapless gown and a dramatic midnight blue voluminous shawl.