Bush Has Lunch and Dinner Out With the Boys
President Bush on Saturday attended an annual luncheon at the Alibi Club, a private club that does not accept women as members.
Bush only smiled and waved when a reporter asked “What kind of message are you sending to women?” as the President entered the exclusive club.
The President also attended a dinner Saturday night sponsored by the Alfalfa Club, another social organization that bars women from its ranks.
“He has gone every year and he intends to keep going, and he believes these clubs are totally appropriate,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.
“This question is asked every year, and the answer is given every year,” the spokesman added.
Howard H. Baker Jr., former White House chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan and a former Republican senator from Tennessee, also attended the luncheon and said he believed that Bush favored the admission of women to both clubs.
“I think that one of these days they ought to change that,” Baker said following the luncheon, adding that he believes “the President agrees.”
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