The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Beijing

Most days, being the U.S. president means trying to extinguish one blooming crisis after another. Then there are days like Saturday.

Mountain biking on the Olympic course. Getting in a couple of hits with the women's beach volleyball team. Chuckling after being the target of a softball player's practical joke. Picking events and knowing he could get in, with a police escort ensuring traffic wasn't a problem. President Bush, a longtime sports fan, was immersing himself into the Olympic spirit with abandon, acting like a kid - even when his body was reminding him that he's 62.

There were also reminders that the world's troubles follow wherever Bush goes. He was given regular updates after Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive earlier in the day to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia. The fast-changing hostilities threaten to ignite a broader conflict in the region.

Bush's most official business comes Sunday in meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders of the country. He will also attend church and speak about religious freedom, a sensitive matter in China, where the government allows worship only in officially approved churches.

But mostly this was a day for athletics, with Bush brushing off reporters' attempts to ask him about the Georgia crisis. He even invented his own event, speed-grazing, as he hopped from one sport to another, joking and offering encouragement to U.S. athletes.