Bush and Howard: Best Mates

Guests dined on squash soup; barramundi, a fish native to Australia (these, however, were farmed in Massachusetts); summer greens, and an Australian black pearl nougat glace (nougat ice cream with oranges). On a diplomatic note, the White House served a Greg Norman chardonnay from Santa Barbara.

Throughout the evening, the buzz among guests was whether the dinner might be a swan song for Howard.

The prime minister, 66, once said he would retire at 65, and just celebrated his 10th year as prime minister, but has made no announcement about his plans.

"He's had 10 years there," said Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp., who attended the dinner with his wife, Wendi Deng. "He's on top of his form, and much better to go out that way than Margaret Thatcher did, losing an election."

The entertainment was also in top form.

Singer Kenny Chesney, dressed in a navy shirt and black hat, stepped up to a microphone with three band members and showed off a pair of cowboy boots the president had given him earlier in the evening.

Chesney, who was briefly married to Renee Zellweger last year, escorted his mother, Karen Chandler, as a Mother's Day gift, he said to guests between songs. The president tapped his feet and nodded his head during Chesney's short set. In an unusual move, dinner guests rushed the stage, asking for autographs and posing for pictures with Chesney.

It remained unclear whether Howard is a country music fan. Not that it matters. At the end of the day, it's not what friends do, but the fact that they're together.