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SYDNEY, Australia - Condoleezza Rice has been President Bush’s foreign policy tutor, sports buddy, national security adviser and his secretary of state.

Bush came up with a new designation Wednesday at a dinner in his honor.

“She can be my date,” the president said, reaching out his left hand to touch Rice’s arm as they stood before the cameras at a dinner hosted by Prime Minister John Howard and his wife Janette at their residence, Kirribilli House . First lady Laura Bush had stayed back in Washington, saying a pinched nerve prevented her from taking long flights.

Bush rode across Sydney Habor in a luxury cruiser flanked by police boats and police on jet skis. Photographers called it a boater-cade. Helicopters watched from overhead as a spitting rain fell from a darkening sky.

Arriving at Kirribilli House, Bush found Howard waiting expectantly in the doorway. Fruit bats swooped overhead. Bush came well prepared. He told the prime minister and his wife that he was eager to see pictures of their new grandchild.

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Bush apologized to Australians for the heavy security clamped on Sydney..

Actually it’s not just for Bush. The leaders of China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and other major Pacific Rim countries are gathering here for a weekend summit — the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The annual meeting, focusing on trade, is a magnet for anti-globalization and environmental protesters.

Parts of Sydney resemble a besieged camp, with police erecting a 10-feet-tall security fence, dubbed by local media the Great Wall of APEC near the summit site.

Bush was ready to deal with the issue at a news conference. When a reporter started to ask him about security, Bush interrupted him.

“I hope you feel safe,” the president said.

“I feel …,” the reporter started.

“You feel inconvenienced, obviously,” Bush said.

“But to the extent I’ve caused this, I apologize,” he continued. “Look, I don’t want to come to a community and say, you know, what a pain it is to have the American president. Unfortunately, however, this is what the authorities thought was necessary to protect people.”

The reporter was finally able to get in another word.

“Well, I wasn’t going to blame you personally, sir,” the reporter said. “But anyway –”

Bush interrupted again. “I guess I must be feeling guilty, you know what I’m saying?”

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Bush did not let security issues or diplomacy get in the way of his exercise.

After lunch, Bush headed back to his hotel to change into biking gear.

His motorcade raced north of Sydney to the Honda Motorcycle Training Facility just east of a town called St. Ives. One of the locals said the track was a former police driver training facility.

Bush emerged about an hour later and his motorcade returned to Sydney, by a different route, through mostly suburban and residential neighborhoods as uniformed children headed home after school. A soccer team stopped on a practice pitch to watch him pass.

Gregarious FeedFlare