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President sees Polynesian chic for the 2011 Pacific summit
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He couldn't bring home the Olympics, but he's nailed the funny shirt photo.
That's one way to view President Obama's announcement that the United States will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii in 2011.
"I look forward to seeing you all decked out in flowered shirts and grass skirts," he told the other leaders Sunday in Singapore.
Since the 21-nation APEC meetings became summits under President Bill Clinton, they've followed a tradition of letting the host dictate what guests wear for the official picture.
For the first summit, at Blake Island, Wash., in 1993, Clinton passed out bomber jackets. But over the years, things have gotten more interesting -- and lots more colorful. The garb has ranged from Javan batik shirts (Bogor, Indonesia, 1994) to flowing ponchos (Lima, Peru, last year). During this year's meeting, the uniform was silk tunic shirts with mandarin collars, in a choice of red or blue-gray.
Steering APEC to Hawaii was something of a consolation for Obama, who failed to land the 2016 Olympics for Chicago despite flying to Copenhagen last month to lead his hometown's closing pitch.
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