Invitations can be tricky, as President Bush most keenly discovered on Monday when he invited the whole legislative gang to lunch and was greeted by only 193. But the FBI is a crime-fighting outfit, and it is not a crime to turn down a White House invitation. Then there is the question of motive.
Attention focuses on what it is that caused individual senators and congressmen to stay away.
Observers were quick to point out that Monday is a busy day for members of Congress, often spent traveling back from weekend work in their home districts. They just couldn't alter their plans on such short notice. But then there were others who were free, or could manage to be free, but chose not to accept the invitation. When that happened to another king, in another age, he was wroth, and sent forth his agents to get other guests, teaching us that many are called but few are chosen. Social invitations that run up against politics cause potentially embarrassing situations.