Tirana, Albania – What happened to the president’s wristwatch Sunday?
One moment, President Bush was glad-handing Albanians, proudly sporting a watch with a dark strap on his left wrist.
Moments later, it was gone.
Did it fall off? Did one of his bodyguards remove it? Or did one of the crowd artfully slip it off his wrist and pocket it?
Albanian media – and international websites – were buzzing over a video showing Bush’s wristwatch apparently disappearing while he shakes hands with a jostling crowd of people in Fushe Kruje, 15 miles north of Tirana.
But White House spokesman Tony Snow said today that Bush’s watch was not stolen by someone in the crowd. “The president put it in his pocket, and it returned safely home,” Snow said.
People waiting on the sidewalks Sunday gave Bush a rapturous welcome, shaking hands with him, grabbing him by the arms and wrists, reaching out to embrace him and even ruffling his hair.
Bush was clearly delighted by the attention and plunged back into the crowd for more handshaking and to be kissed on the cheek.
An Albanian bodyguard who accompanied Bush in the town told The Associated Press he had seen one of his U.S. colleagues close to Bush bend down and pick up the watch from the ground.
The Top Channel private TV station showed how one of his bodyguards may have spoken with the president and then taken the watch from his hand.
Bush’s visit to the tiny Balkan country, the first ever by a U.S. president, was considered historic.
Albania issued three postage stamps with Bush’s picture and the Statue of Liberty, renamed a street in front of parliament in his honor and awarded him the highest National Flag medal. The Fushe Kruje town council also declared him an honored citizen.
