Bush pulls out all the stops for visit

THE leader of the world’s Roman Catholics has been to the White House only once in history, when President Carter hosted John Paul II in 1979.

That changes this week, and President George W Bush is pulling out all the stops: driving out to a suburban military base to meet Pope Benedict XVI’s plane, bringing a giant audience to the south lawn and hosting a fancy East Room dinner.

President Bush has never before given a visiting leader the honour of picking him up at the airport.