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White House State Dinners

The Obamas host Mexico’s first family at a state dinner Wednesday, determined to put talk of gate-crashers behind them. Dayo Olopade on the Obama-Calderon friendship—and what’s on the menu.

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Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
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President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pose for a photo with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife Margarita Zavala.

Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
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President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama await India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.

Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
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President Bush and first lady Laura Bush welcome Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

Evan Vucci / AP Photo
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President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton pose with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie.

Luke Frazza, AFP / Getty Images
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President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush pose with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Russian first lady Naina Yeltsin.

Jennifer Law, AFP / Getty Images
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Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan pose with Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raisa Gorbachev.

Ron Edmonds / AP Photo
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President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter welcome British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Dennis Cook / AP Photo
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President Gerald Ford and Queen Elizabeth dancing during the state dinner in honor of the Queen and Prince Philip.

AP Photo
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President Richard Nixon and wife Pat greet Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada.

Bob Daugherty / AP Photo
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President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson greet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India. Johnson held a state dinner for Gandhi the year she assumed the office her father had held for 17 years.

Lyndon B. Johnson Library / AP Photo
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President Kennedy joins guests before a state dinner in honor of Peruvian President Manuel Prado. The presidents stand with their wives and officials for a formal portrait. In the front row: President Prado and Senora de Prado join Jacqueline Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy.

AP Photo
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President and Mrs. Eisenhower stand with Thailand's King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

AP Photo