White Van Man

We found ourselves today having to give Dubya at least a little credit upon reading in the Washington Post online that (a) he has an iPod and (b) Van Morrison is on it. This is revealed in an informal pre-inauguration Q&A:

Bush's iPod contains the songs of Irish-born, folk-rock singer Van Morrison, whose hits include "Moondance" and "Domino," and country singer Linda Gail Lewis, little sister of rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis. Morrison and Lewis recently united their musical talents on the album, "You Win Again."

We didn't find the upbeat Dubya's fondness for the famously cantankerous Van immediately convincing, but in a list of relevant news stories about Van linked from his VH1 profile, there is one of him denying a rumour that he was to play at the inauguration 4 years ago, so at the very least, his No 1 US fan has a track record in his stated preferences.

In fact it's likely that this will be as close as Dubya gets to an interest in things Northern Irish anytime soon; given his impatience with pomp and the alleged linkage between Sinn Fein and the Northern Bank robbery, it's not inconceivable that the St Patrick's festivities in Washington will get much reduced attention from the White House this year. Any request for Dubya's intervention may require a musical emissary.