Politics

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 6, 2001 / 10:58 AM EDT / CBS

His father at his side, President Bush celebrated his 55th birthday Friday with a round of golf that began with a picture perfect drive right down the middle of the fairway.

Wearing a hat with the number 43 — a gift from his father reflecting that he's the 43rd president — Mr. Bush told his golfing partners they would each get a practice shot before the round began. However, after Mr. Bush's first shot went straight and long, he changed the rules, saying, "We're only playing the first ball."

Mr. Bush's father, wearing a hat with the appropriate number 41 emblazoned on it, shanked his first shot but was given a second one by the president. He joked to a gaggle of reporters and cameramen, "You didn't see that one, did you?"

"I'm going to get what I want for my birthday — spend some time with my family," Mr. Bush told reporters on the first tee. He also said he was looking forward to telephone calls from his daughters, who were in Texas.

The president and former president were golfing with Mr. Bush's brother-in-law, Bobby Koch, and a local golf pro, Ken Raynor.

Mr. Bush was asked if he was going to shoot his age on the par 72 golf course. "On the front nine," he said, laughing. "Thanks for your optimism."

The big stone and shingle house on Walker's Point that he will return to in the afternoon has been a source of enjoyment for Mr. Bush virtually every year of his life.

"It's part of his family," said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer when asked about the relationship between the president and the house at Kennebunkport.

"Kennebunkport is a place where his parents and grandparents spent an awful lot of time; he just wants to spend time with his parents and his friends," Fleisher said Thursday shortly after Mr. Bush's plane landed in a downpour. "That remains the same whether he is president or governor or a private citizen."

There will also be a birthday dinner at the family house.

Arriving in Maine Thursday, a knot of hardy residents ignored the rain to greet the president's motorcade as it rolled up to the family house. "Welcome to Maine. Happy Birthday," one sign said.

Flying outside the estate were an American flag, the presidential flag, Maine's state flag as well as the state flags of both Texas and Florida.

The family group includes Mr. Bush's parents, former President Mr. Bush and Barbara Mr. Bush, sister Dorothy and brother Jeb, the governor of Florida. There are also the presidential dogs, Scottish terrier Barney and springer spaniel, Spot.

The president's mini vacation in Maine represents a change of pace, at least for this year. Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Mr. Bush have visited their ranch near Crawford, Texas, six times since Inauguration Day and plan to spend a three-week vacation there in August.

The president's father was the first Bush to turn the oceanfront home in Maine into a summer White House. He golfed, fished, raced his speedboat and jogged — all at a frntic pace — during Kennebunkport stays.

The last time Mr. Bush came to Kennebunkport was in June 2000, when he and his brothers and sister met for a birthday party for their mother.

The former president has spent at least part of every summer since childhood here, except when he was in the Navy during World War II. Residents have watched George W. and the other Mr. Bush children grow up here.

But this is also the place where, in 1976, after a Labor Day weekend visit to a bar, George W. Mr. Bush was arrested. He pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Mr. Bush kept the incident under wraps throughout his political career, but was forced to acknowledge it when the arrest report surfaced late in the 2000 presidential campaign.