PHILADELPHIA (AP) – President George W. Bush got a look Saturday at how history will remember him – at least in one artist’s view – as he presided over the unveiling of his portrait at a private club.
“Welcome to my hanging,” Bush said, drawing laughs from the well-dressed audience in The Union League’s ornate hall.
The portrait shows Bush staring straight ahead, looking comfortable but not quiet smiling, against the backdrop of the White House’s Treaty Room. The siting took place in March, when artist Mark Carder took hundreds of photographs to capture details, such as Bush’s skin color.
right. “He did a really fine job with a challenging subject,” Bush said.
After the unveiling, Bush headed to Lincoln Financial Field to preside over the coin toss of the annual Army-Navy game and settle in to watch the 109th meeting between the service academies. He planned to sit in the stand with troops wounded while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, switching from the Army side in the first half to the Navy’s for the second.
It was the third time in Bush’s eight years as president that he has made time to attend the game. For him, it is a chance to honor the military while soaking in his love for sports. Asked whom the president would root for, spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, “The guys in uniform.”
Air Force One flew over Lincoln Financial Stadium on the way into Philadelphia. It was more than two hours before kickoff, and the stands were lightly filled at the time.
Bush intended to stop by the Army and Navy locker rooms before kickoff, then head onto the field to handle the ceremonial coin toss. His public schedule anticipated he would stay for the entire game.
Bush also attended the game in 2004, when he was asked on the field who he thought would win and responded: “The United States of America.” His first Army-Navy game as president was in 2001, less than three months after the Sept. 11 attacks.
t 3-8.
Earlier, at the club, which was founded in 1862 to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln, Bush received its gold medal for service to the country. He thanked members for honoring Lincoln’s life and work.
“I have drawn strength from his example,” Bush said.
The portrait was commissioned by the Abraham Lincoln Foundation and paid for with a grant from The Thornton D. and Elizabeth Hooper Foundation, the White House said. Carder has done portraits of such other prominent figures as the president’s parents, George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush.
The president said his 83-year-old mother was recovering well from surgery in Houston for a perforated ulcer. “I hope they don’t put this on TV, but she’s a tough old bird,” he said. Barbara Bush was released from the hospital Tuesday.
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On the Net:
Union League: http://www.unionleague.org/abraham-lincoln-foundation.php
Mark Carder: http://www.markcarder.com/
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