Many people have a chance in their lifetimes to see the changing the guard at London's Buckingham Palace.

Few are privileged enough to see the changing of the Sword of Talking Points and Shield of Voicemail.

Last night, at a diplomatic home near humid Tel Aviv, at few dozen folks were able to bear witness to this rare transition of American power.

For it was in the grassy back yard that Stewart Tuttle, the longtime spokesman for the US embassy in Israel, passed on the a few key items to his successor, Kurt Hoyer.

In a moment filled with pomp-and-circumstance, Stewart stood before the hushed crowd and invoked the spirit of Prince Phillip in Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty."

In the film, the prince uses the magical Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue to kill the evil sorceress and rescue Sleeping Beauty.

Lacking those magical items, Stewart instead bestowed upon his successor some decidedly unique PR alternatives.

First came the Shield of Voicemail, a small, flimsy aluminum foil-coated, three-pointed shield (apparently made of thin cardboard) meant to protect Hoyer from intrepid journalists.

The Shield of Voicemail, Stewart said, was to be wielded to deflect assaults "when you know what they're calling about -- and have absolutely no answers."

The Shield of Voicemail might not be very sturdy, Stewart admitted, but it might succeed in holding off the persistent louts (my words, not his) for a while.

Second came the Sword of Talking Points, a floppy (apparently plastic) two-foot weapon intended to cleave aggressive hacks (also my words, not his) into pieces.

Stewart said the weapon came with a warning:

"It is not Excalibur," said Stewart. "It is a blunt instrument."

The Sword of Talking Points and Shield of Voicemail would not save Captain America, but Stewart assured his successor that they might be strong enough to get him through the posting with only flesh wounds...