First Lady Stays at Dinner, Jokingly Blames Husband’s Tennis Defeat

First Lady Barbara Bush stayed at Wednesday’s official dinner after President Bush’s collapse and departure cast a pall over the gathering of about 135 people. But she appeared anxious and emotional until a note was passed to her. She relayed it to Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

‘The Foreign Ministry called,” Miyazawa said as Barbara Bush beamed. “The President is fine and resting at Akasaka Palace.”

“You know, I can’t explain what happened to George because it never happened before,” the First Lady told the audience later as the tension dissipated. She jokingly blamed her husband’s illness on the afternoon tennis match, in which Bush and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Michael H. Armacost had been “badly beaten,” 6-3, 6-3, by Emperor Akihito and his son, Crown Prince Naruhito. “We Bushes aren’t used to that,” she said. “So he felt much worse than I thought.”

National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft delivered the dinner toast on Bush’s behalf.

Asked about Barbara Bush’s decision not to accompany Bush back to the palace, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said: “It was immediately clear that the condition was not serious, that it was a case of the flu.” He added that the First Lady believed there “was not any need to further disrupt the dinner.”

Prime Minister Miyazawa later sent a handwritten message to Bush extending his best wishes for a speedy recovery. He noted that, thanks to the First Lady’s assistance, “the dinner had ended in great success,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.