The Associated Press

WASHINGTON � for a guy looking for a new house, George W. Bush picked the
right place for a speech Monday.
``It's fitting, I guess, that I'm here in Washington talking to Realtors,''
Bush told about 1,500 people attending the midyear conference of the National
Association of Realtors. ``After all, I'm looking for a new house.''
The audience gathered a mile or so from the White House, laughed heartily,
continuing a lighthearted atmosphere that started moments earlier.
The Texas governor was introduced by Dennis Cook of Roanoke, Va., the
association's president. He played off the Texas tradition of doing things
large.
``The Lone Star State is home to 20 million people � and nearly that many
cattle. It has the most farmland, the most species of bats, the longest fishing
pier, the largest rose garden. And Texans will tell you that the first word
spoken from the moon was, 'Houston,''' Cook said.
Taking the stage, Bush grinned and called the introduction ``intriguing.''