Obama-Lama!

Did you know… that Barack Obama had the Dalai Lama’s scarf in his pocket when he was sworn in as President of the United States of America? Don’t worry, he didn’t steal it during a visit to the Dalai Lama’s house or anything… OR DID HE?

No, he didn’t. Here’s what happened.

Richard Blum lives in San Francisco and is a Special Envoy to Nepal. He has been a Tibet supporter for many years. Richard was up on the platform during the swearing in ceremony of Barack Obama and had a role as escort for the First Lady.

His wife is California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who introduced Barack Obama at the inauguration. She is also a longtime supporter of Tibet.

Before the inauguration, Richard told Barack Obama that he had with him a white khata – a silk Tibetan scarf – given to him by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Blum described what happened next in an email to Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama’s Speial Envoy:

“I offered it to President Obama before the ceremony. I said that I could get it delivered to him later. He said, no, that he was going to take it and have it with him; in fact, it was in his pocket when he was sworn-in.”

MORE: Obama Had The Dalai Lama’s Scarf In His Pocket During Swearing In

(Thanks for the heads up – and the post title – Angie!)