President lighthearted on 60th

WASHINGTON – Turning 60 Thursday, President Bush clowned around with reporters who sang “Happy Birthday” to him and posed for pictures with three others born on the same date.

At a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Bush had two reporters and a State Department official join him on stage once he discovered they, too, were celebrating birthdays, though years apart.

“Anybody else have their birthday today?” a giddy Bush asked.

The president also learned from a Canadian reporter that Harper had brought him a belt buckle as a birthday present. “I hadn’t seen it yet,” Bush chortled. “You gave it away!”

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin both wished Bush a happy birthday over the phone, but they didn’t give him the present he asked for: sanctions against North Korea for test-firing missiles.

The president and first lady Laura Bush also granted CNN’s Larry King an hourlong interview that kicked off a charm offensive to try to reverse Americans’ low regard for the president’s handling of his job.

The goodwill effort was also apparent when Bush made an impromptu visit Wednesday to a Dunkin’ Donuts in the Washington suburbs. The doughnut diplomacy was aimed at showing North Korea and Americans he isn’t worried about Pyongyang’s missiles.

In another sign that he’s trying to revamp his damaged image, Bush will host a news conference today in Chicago for local and national media. Aides say it will become a more routine fixture when the president is traveling the country.