The joke of the evening, in fact, was his limited appetite for socializing. He even laid low in the back of the crowd as First Lady Laura Bush introduced Jenna. “I want to say one thing about the dad,” said Laura. “Back there at the back of the room is a very proud father.”

When Jenna took the mic, she added, “He hasn’t gone out of the house to go to a social event in a long time.”

The president didn’t address the crowd, although he did mingle for about an hour amid the small group of about 100. When again he was asked why he didn’t get out more, he replied, “Why would I?”

Speaking to Ellen Bennett, wife of big-shot lawyer Bob Bennett, President Bush joined a conversation about how amazing it is to watch one’s children grow and blossom. “Don’t ever underestimate your children,” said Bush.

And, since he was a bit caught up in the excitement of his daughter’s big party, President Bush accidentally bumped into party-goer Susan Porter and did his part to spill her glass of champagne on her Chanel jacket. “I’m so sorry!” said the leader of the free world to the wife of lawyer Stephen Porter. “I elbowed you!” But Porter took it in stride, telling the president that “it’s perfectly alright,” and walking away with a great story to tell for the rest of the night.

On hand for the festivities were Jenna’s fiancéeHenry Hager, her sister Barbara, who traveled down from New York, former Mayor Tony Williams, socially ubiquitous Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, and execs from publisher HarperCollins and UNICEF.

And Jenna, as it turns out, now has something in common with Henry Adams, Mark Twain and Edith Wharton, who once graced the hotel’s halls to discuss their works and the issues of the day. “In that spirit we have Jenna Bush as today’s author,” said the hotel’s executive vice president,

Kay Enokido.