The Jungle Room at Graceland is not the Oval Office, but who said international leaders can’t get work done there?  President George W. Bush will be hosting Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi Friday at Elvis Presley’s famed mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.    

The trip to Graceland, however, is a first for a president while in office, said Todd Morgan, director of media and creative development for Elvis Presley Enterprises.

The first couple “look forward to introducing the prime minister to the beauty and warm hospitality of the people of the Volunteer State,� White House press secretary Tony Snow said on June 13.

“[Bush] is doing it because he’s been close to the Japanese prime minister and this the Japanese prime minister’s choice because he’s been an Elvis fan,� Sabato said.

Graceland was the home of Presley for over two decades and where he died in 1977.  The home is still furnished in the same 70’s motif from the time of his death.  I grew up an hour from the famed home, but I didn’t visit it until two years ago.  Some tourists may claim it is tacky, but it was first class for the era that Elvis lived there. Its a national treasure and everyone should make a pilgrimage at some point to the home of the King.

Official Elvis and Graceland Site