Kenny Chesney 'Booted' at White House

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/18/2006 at 08:00 AM EDT

President Bush has given Kenny Chesney the boot. Actually, a pair of them.

Performing at the White House Tuesday night at a dinner for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, the country star sported brand new boots that were gifts from Bush, The Washington Post reports.

Bush, apparently, is a fan of Houston-based custom bootmaker Rocky Carroll. According to the newspaper, the president owns two dozen size-10 pairs from Carroll's RJ's Boot Co. (Bill Clinton, size 13, has about half as many.)

Chesney's size 7 1/2 boots are made of black eel skin with a black calf top and black eel inlays, and feature the initials K.C. as well as the flags of the U.S. and Australia.

"The president knows what to give somebody," Chesney told the audience.

As for the cost of Chesney's boots, "Just say they're priceless," Carroll told The Post.