President, Prime Minister, Pay Respects to the King

I’m not sure, but this may be the first time that a sitting President has visited Graceland. President George Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are going to Graceland for a tour and to pay their respects to the King of Rock and Roll.

They will be met at Graceland by ‘Cilla and Lisa Marie.

They turned off the Graceland Webcams for the duration of the event, but you can take a virtual tour of Graceland here.

From ABC News Here:

At Graceland, recently designated a National Historic Landmark, Bush and Koizumi will see the white-column, two-story colonial most visitors see. There are the shag carpets and ceramic monkeys of the Jungle Room, which Elvis famously furnished with a 30-minute shopping spree; the glossy black baby-grand piano near the living room’s white, 15-foot sofa; hundreds of gold records, outfits and guitars in the home’s museums; and the singer’s grave out by the swimming pool.

Also like others, they won’t get a peek at the private upstairs quarters, including the bedroom and bath where Elvis died of heart disease and drug abuse in 1977.

But the leaders get a perk most don’t. Squired around the manse’s gaudy interiors by Presley’s only child and heir, Lisa Marie, and her mother, Priscilla, they have tour guides almost as interesting as the tour.

The visit and Koizumi’s Elvis obsession was a top topic even during the leaders’ otherwise-serious joint news conference Thursday at the White House.

“We’ve agreed to take two questions a side,” Bush instructed reporters. “Walking in, I reminded the prime minister of one of Elvis’s greatest songs, ‘Don’t Be Cruel,’ so keep that in mind when you ask your question.”

Koizumi ended the session with his own Elvis song reference: “Thank you very much, American people, for ‘Love Me Tender.'”