Bush portrait unveiled

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- President George Bush was presented a gold medal Saturday at the unveiling of his portrait at the Union League of Philadelphia.

"Welcome to my hanging," the president joked to the crowd upon his arrival.

He was given several ovations by those on hand.

Bush drew laughs for his self-deprecating comments about his looks.

Bush's portrait was painted by Mark Carder. The club has a gallery displaying portraits of every Republican president since Abraham Lincoln.

"(Carder) did a really fine job with a challenging subject," Bush said. "I was taken aback by how much gray paint you had to use."

In accepting his medal, Bush also took time to mention his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, was doing well after ulcer surgery, calling her "a tough old bird -- whose spirits are soaring high."

On the way to the unveiling, the president's plane did a flyover of Lincoln Financial Field, site of Saturday's annual Army-Navy football game. Bush later attended the 109th meeting of the two military academies, his third time as president, and participated in the game's coin toss.

In an interview on CBS Sports, Bush was asked what the game meant to him. "Well," he answered, "it means to me that I have -- I got a chance to come and be with people who will be joining the finest military in the history of the world."

"I stand in awe of somebody who would volunteer to serve America in a time of danger."