EXCERPTS:
In the time-honored political tradition of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, President Bush invited the White House press corps out to his ranch Wednesday night for a poolside barbecue.
....... the words uttered by the president and Laura Bush cannot be conveyed to the public -- the White House required that the conversations be off the record. It was the first such gathering of the full press corps at Bush's ranch and the second of its kind in Bush's presidency.
.....(Reporters were not allowed in the main house but connived their way into the guest house by saying they needed to use the toilets.)
.... the teetotaling president arranged for them to be served beer from coolers and Australian (read: not French) red wine. Barney, the Scottish terrier, elected to drink water from the pool. Spot, the other presidential dog, took a brief dip in the pool.
....Back at the Whining Pool, the press corps did what it does best: load up on fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, jalapeno biscuits and peach cobbler.
....The sun had set, the cobbler was gone and Barney, tired of the whole thing, began barking ferociously at the guests. The president retreated to his compound, the press to the crickets in their hotel rooms.