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Letter to the editor

Bushes work out stand-up act

By wire services
Published May 3, 2005

WASHINGTON - Ladies and gentlemen, live from the Rose Garden, it's the comedy stylings of George W. and Laura Bush, America's new first family of funny.

In the best traditions of George Burns and Gracie Allen - and on the heels of the first lady's show-stopping Saturday night stand-up routine - the Bushes on Monday traded quips during a ceremony honoring historic preservation efforts.

Mrs. Bush instigated the exchange with a not-so-subtle glance at the president as she touted the nation's historic sites.

"They're wonderful destinations for school field trips, for family adventures or even for a romantic getaway," she said, turning toward the husband she had sarcastically called "Mr. Excitement" during her Saturday night remarks at the White House Correspondents Association dinner.

"A couple of funny lines one evening and she gets carried away," the president replied Monday. "Laura Leno Bush."

Moments later, Bush, honoring the historic preservation of author Edith Wharton's Massachusetts home, turned the spotlight on his wife's bedtime habits.

"When we first moved to the White House, she was reading Edith Wharton's books. Sometimes it was hard to get her to turn off the light," he joked.

The patter continued a few minutes later when Bush botched his lines and erroneously mentioned "the restoration of the 18th Bolduc House" in Missouri.

Mrs. Bush moved quickly in correcting the leader of the free world, a man who once famously said he could not recall a mistake he had made since taking office.

"Eighteenth century," she told her husband.

"You've become a comedian and an editor," he replied.

Monday's Rose Garden ceremony centered on "Preserve America" awards given to historic preservation efforts, including the Texas Historic Trails Program and the restoration of the Isaiah Davenport Home in Savannah, Ga.

Mrs. Bush's emergence as comedian came Saturday night at the annual correspondents dinner that is usually highlighted by a presidential speech. Mrs. Bush, armed with a string of one-liners penned by Landon Parvin, who has written humor for Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan, interrupted her husband and commandeered the microphone.

She had the crowd roaring as she leveled the president with humor.

"I said to him the other day, "George, if you really want to end tyranny in the world you're going to have to stay up later,"' Mrs. Bush said in a riff about how "Mr. Excitement here" usually is asleep by 9 p.m.

In another gibe, she observed that she and her husband were opposites in some ways - including that she knows how to pronounce "nu-cle-ar." Bush's critics for years have twitted his version: "nu-cu-lar."

Her performance left the crowd of some 3,000 journalists, officials and celebrities howling.

It impressed Cedric the Entertainer, the comedian who headlined the event. "I say the first lady rocked that party," he said.

[Last modified May 3, 2005, 01:19:05]