SHORT TAKES : Bush Attends Gala at Ford’s

The street outside was in the nation’s capital but inside it was all country, with President and Mrs. Bush attending the annual Ford’s Theatre gala Sunday night, an event with a decidedly down-home beat from their home state of Texas.

Actors John Forsythe and Valerie Harper were co-hosts for the annual fund-raiser, which each year raises money for new productions launched at the historic theater.

The evening’s entertainment featured some of country music’s best, including Texas’ own Tanya Tucker and the Gatlin Brothers. Country star Roy Clark, Broadway’s Tommy Tune--who also hails from the Lone Star state--jazz singer Diane Schuur and Tony Bennett rounded out the musical entertainment.

Comic relief came in the form of Jim Morris, who did an on-the-mark impersonation of the President, opening with the line, “Read my lips, no more broccoli,” and proceeding to an explanation of why the invasion of Panama was called “Operation Just Cause.”

“People asked me why I called it ‘Just Cause,’ ” said Morris in a breathy, Bush-like voice. “I said just ‘cause I liked it.”