Lights out at 10pm for Bush party guests

Since he first ran for president, George Bush has portrayed himself as the "anti-Bill Clinton", and his social life is no exception.

The administration has just published the list of guests invited to spend the night in the White House since Mr Bush assumed the presidency 20 months ago, and the contrast with his predecessor could not be more striking.

Where Mr Clinton – ever the social climber, even in the most powerful job on earth -- played host to a steady stream of celebrities and power-brokers from the worlds of politics, academia, business, publishing and Hollywood, Mr Bush's circle has been folksy, intimate and almost wilfully devoid of glamour or intellectualism.

Most of the 160 people who have spent the night since inauguration day have been old friends or golfing partners from Texas. Scratch around the list for well-known names, and the best you can do is Ben Crenshaw, the golfer; Kinky Friedman, the Texas singer- songwriter turned author; and a couple of minor-league country music artists. No Barbra Streisand or Warren Beatty – almost nobody, in fact, that Mr Bush has not known for years and already considers his personal friend.

"The only celebrity you see there now is when you turn on the television in your bedroom," a presidential friend told The New York Times.

The style of entertainment has undergone a sea change, too. While Mr Clinton enjoyed large, noisy parties, often continuing late into the night with lengthy, impassioned conversation over sandwiches in the kitchen of the White House, Mr Bush has stuck to a simple, no-nonsense schedule: dinner at 7pm, followed by coffee and perhaps one cigar on the White House balcony, then lights out for everyone by 10pm at the latest.

Conversation revolves around common acquaintances and professional sport; any attempt at weighty discussion is immediately frowned on.

"Anyone who puts on airs and tries to get puffed is going to get punctured mighty quickly," said another close friend and regular White House guest, the former Texas state senator David Sibley.