Joseph Verner Reed Jr., Protocol Chief Who Presided Over Colorful Gaffe, Dies at 78 While under President George Bush, Mr. Reed was part of ‘the talking hat’ affair, a slip-up that entered the annals of diplomatic history. Share: Facebook Twitter Google+ Stumble Digg Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook Related Posts:Fire Kills at Least 18 in Surat, India, as Students Jump From BuildingTraditional Dresses as ResistancePopulists Seek to Break the European Union From WithinExplosive Device in French City of Lyon Injures at Least 13In Kabul’s Liberating Cafes, ‘Women Make the Culture Here, Not Men’‘Not Just a Maid’: The Ultra-Running Domestic Workers of Hong Kong