Bush marks birthday in low-key way

After months of fretting about getting older, US President George Bush turned 60 today.

“Let me just say this: it’s a lot younger than you think,” the president said as he accepted birthday greetings from a Canadian reporter during a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Bush celebrated his birthday with friends on Tuesday at a White House party on Independence Day and there weren’t supposed to be any festivities today.

Still, the occasion was noted in a long day of meetings and public appearances, including a press conference with Harper.

The president received birthday greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin who talked with Bush on the phone this morning about North Korea’s missile tests.

As Bush closed his news conference, a reporter in the audience, Raghubir Goyal, called out that it was his birthday, too.

Bush invited him to the podium for a picture.

Two others joined the birthday celebration.

“Amazing, everybody’s birthday today,” Bush said.