Indeed G.W. looked to be having grand time in the stands with Laura, George Sr., and others including USA basketball boss Jerry Colangelo. At the President's right was Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, formerly China's ambassador to the U.S.  Whatever they were gabbing about, the banter was lengthy and lively. Bush gave it up for Yao Ming during the introductions and got an inch or two of elevation off his seat when LeBron James spiked home an alley-oop off the fast break.

The crowd erupted in applause for both countries when the teams made their entrances and sang their respective national anthems. Bush's appearance elicited little noise, but a lot of whispers, head craning and candid camera shots. The U.S. President had been licking his lips over this showdown for some time. A month ago on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Tokyo, amidst talk about strategic issues like North Korean and Iran, Bush requested tickets to the game from his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. There was talk that Hu, though not known to be much of hoops follower, might show up as well. Instead the FM Yang was Bush's escort for the night.

In rare press conference with international media before the Olympics, Hu had revealed a penchant for ping-pong.