“The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches,” she said. “Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn’t high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context.” After CNSNews.com published Bataille’s comment, the White House issued a statement saying that the blue drape and flag backdrop that was used for the speech is “standard for many presidential events.”
