Barbara Bush described one of those most embarrassing moments
that inevitably occur, even on the most carefully arranged foreign trips.
Bob Dole introduced this in the book, Great Political WIT. Along
with her husband, then the Vice President, Mrs. Bush was lunching
with Emperor Hirohito at Tokyo's Imperial Palace. Sitting next to
the Emperor, Mrs. Bush found the conversation an uphill task.
To all her efforts at verbal engagement, the Emperor would smile
and say "Yes" or "No," with an occasional "Thank you" tossed in for good
measure. Looking around her elegant surroundings, she complimented
Hirohito on his official residence.
"Thank you," he said.
"Is it new?" pressed Mrs. Bush.
"Yes."
"Was the old palace just so old that it was falling down?"
asked the intrepid visitor.
In his most charming, yet regal, manner, Hirohito replied,
"No, I'm afraid that you bombed it."
Mrs. Bush turned to her other lunch partner.

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Once two men argued about Jesus whether or not he was a black
person or white person. They died at the same time and met St. Peter
at the gate of heaven. They still continued their argument and asked
St. Peter about this. He said, "Look, Jesus is coming and you will
see it." When Jesus saw them, he greeted them, "Buenas Tarders.
Como Estan?."

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Ronald Reagan is a great storyteller. One of his favorites concerned
three men, a surgeon, an engineer, and an economist, who had passed
away and eventually confronted St. Peter at the gates of heaven.
"I'm very sorry," Peter told them, "but there is room for only one
of you. Which one of you is from the oldest profession?"
The surgeon said, "That's me! God took Adam's rib and made Eve,
so he was doing surgery."
"No," asserted the engineer. "Before that, God made the world out of chaos,
and that took engineering."
Finally the economist spoke up. "Wait a minute!" he declared.
"Who do you think made all that chaos?"