President Clinton was to represent the United States of America on
a highly formal, orchestrated “state visit” to Great Britain.

Air Force One stopped at a bright red carpet along which the President
strode to join Queen Elizabeth II in a beautiful, ornate 17th-century
coach hitched to 6 enormous matched white horses.

The coach proceeded through the streets en route to Buckingham Palace
with the President and the Queen alternating between exchanging
pleasantries and waving each out their respective windows to the
cheering throngs.

At one point, the right rear horse produced a thunderous, cataclysmic
fart that reverberated through the air and rattled the doors of the
coach.

Presidents and Queens are, first and foremost, human beings. Their
first reaction was to focus their attentions outside their respective
windows, and behave as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

The President was the first to realize that ignoring what had
happened was ridiculous.

“Queen Elizabeth, please accept my regrets …. I’m sure you
understand that there are some things that even the President of
the United States cannot control.”

“Mr. Clinton, please don’t give the matter another thought. Why,
if you hadn’t said something, I would have thought it was one of
the horses.”