Streisand mocks Bush on opening night

Barbara Streisand peppered the opening night of her comeback tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a series of digs aimed at US president George Bush.

The 64-year-old is a staunch Democrat and is still appalled that Bush was elected to the most powerful position in the world despite doubts over the crucial result in Florida in 2000.

The concert at the Wachovia Center featured a political satire sketch where an actor playing the Republican president reeled off lines including: "I'm concerned about the national debt, so I'm selling Canada," and: "If I cared about the polls I would have run for president of Poland."

Streisand has come out of retirement for a series of shows to raise money for a charitable foundation which supports a number of environmental and educational causes.