John Katsilometes talks with a former president’s daughter, who stopped by to sign books and raise funds for a foundation

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006 | 6:57 a.m.

It's a bumpy time for the Bushes, but one member of the first family has written an exhaustively researched book celebrating the family's first president. And Doro Bush Koch, the lone daughter of George H.W. and Barbara Bush, and sister of George W. Bush (along with Jeb, Neil and Marvin Bush) was in good spirits Tuesday during a luncheon at the Margaux Ballroom at Wynn Las Vegas.

The luncheon, after which Bush Koch signed copies of her new book, "My Father, My President" (Warner Books, $29.99), was a fundraiser for Keep Memory Alive, the foundation for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. The Bush family's only daughter said she has learned to weather criticism of her family, particularly the two members who have ascended to the presidency.

"You try not to take it personally, but it does hurt your feelings because they are your family before they are politicians," Bush Koch said during Tuesday's event. "It's family first for us. But that's politics. It comes with the job, and we've been dealing with it for a long time."

Bush Koch said she did not write the book to set the record straight about her father's political career or personality, but to provide an accurate profile of her father. "I wanted to shed light on his character, his record of service and the little things that added up to big things," she said. "People don't realize how funny he can be. His predecessor (Ronald Reagan) and successor (Bill Clinton) were masters at communicating in the television era. Dad wasn't, so I wanted people to see what he really was, and that's a good man with a strong moral compass."

Bush Koch interviewed dozens of her father's friends and colleagues - in a single day she spoke with Michael Dukakis, Chris Evert, Vice President Dick Cheney and her father's barber. Tuesday's event (which raised $170,000 for Keep Memory Alive, including $100,000 from a single anonymous donor) drew a high concentration of newsmakers. Those seated around the room included Sen. John Ensign (who said he has been busy on the cell phone better acquainting himself with fellow Republicans as the new chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee), Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, Steve Wynn (who was led on a personal tour of the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute renderings by founder Larry Ruvo), Lake Las Vegas developer Ron Boeddeker and Luxor President Felix Rappaport (who seems to be hanging around every corner these days). Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman took a quick lap around the ballroom, and also on hand was former candidate for lieutenant governor Barbara Lee Woollen.

A last good line, from Bush Koch's speech from the podium: "When people learn that George H.W. Bush has a daughter, and George W. Bush has a sister, it's like they've been told there's a fifth Beatle." She also told a story about one Bush brother shooting the other with a BB gun (accidentally), but didn't specify who shot whom. She said, "The response from my father and mother was not kind and gentle."

NoteMart

Detect a quote dearth? Goodman's weekly news conference, scheduled for each Thursday at City Hall, has been postponed for a second week. "Scheduling conflict" is the stated reason, but he will be back - with fresh material - on Dec. 7 ...

I fired up KSTJ 102.7-FM (Star 102.7) on Wednesday and heard, on Southern Nevada's only '80s station, "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5, which is not an '80s tune. It turns out KSTJ has boosted its song list and changed formats to what it calls "The '80s, '90s and more." KSTJ's parent company, Beasley Broadcasting Group, managed to make the move this week with scant advance notice and no fanfare, and there have been no personnel changes at the station (which is a good thing) ...

The new lobby at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood opened Wednesday. Similar to the design strategy illuminated by Red Rock Resort, eight chandeliers (each with 66,000 Swarovski crystals that were individually hand-strung with 104 light bulbs per chandelier) are the focal point of the 12,800-square-foot expanse. The lobby is the first phase of the hotel renovation; next is the casino floor, expected to be finished before the end of the year ...

A recent issue of the New Yorker (the Nov. 6 issue, precisely) features a great satirical piece by John Kenney, in which a couple of Madison Avenue creative types meet with two Bush administration strategists to brainstorm a message to replace "stay the course" in Iraq. Says one Mad Man: "What about something lighter? What happens in Baghdad stays in Baghdad." Says a strategist, "I like that a lot." But they settle on "Of course we'll stay!" ...

Mr. Happiness (real name, Larry Johnson), the happy curiosity who shares his distinctive flavor of goodwill with passing motorists on the corner of West Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road, has added a few elements to his daily performances. "M.H." has replaced his Fender Stratocaster with a synthesizer and is now wearing what looks to be some sort of red-and-black Asian superhero jumpsuit (with matching plastic headgear). A couple of innovative businesses - Tinder Box cigars and Rising Sun restaurant - have posted signs behind the volunteer performer, and hanging from tree limbs is a KTNV News 13 T-shirt (you can also enjoy M.H. on Josh "Chop" Towbin's bizarrely entertaining infomercials for Towbin Dodge) ...

I have it (although some say I've lost it) on good authority that Brendan's Irish Pub at the Orleans will indeed remain in its current form and won't be morphed into yet another fabulous Las Vegas nightclub. The name will change and the music schedule will be pared to Fridays and Saturdays; one band scheduled to continue performing at Brendan's is one of our free favorites, Killian's Angels ...

The Jaguar with the vanity plate VOICE, reported in Tuesday's Fab LV, does not belong to Steve Lawrence, as I speculated. Its owner is Ron Garrett, the Sahara's director of marketing and entertainment and a past winner of the Nevada Broadcasting Association Hall of Fame award. Garrett is a radio and television voice-over announcer still very much in demand. He has had the Nevada license plate VOICE since 1974, and also still owns the like-new 1988 Corvette I wrote about several months ago (the car has just 54,000 original miles).