The story of George and Bill; or, Maybe there's hope for us, after all

There's a great piece in the NY Times today about the newfound friendship between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The two ex-presidents are currently touring the areas devastated by the South Asian tsunami a couple of months ago. Apparently, they have been able to put aside their differences and have even become somewhat friendly.

The new warmth arises as President Bush and Mr. Clinton, who had little love for each other in the past, have grown closer.

"Frankly, President Bush likes Clinton a lot," Roland Betts, a close friend of the president, said. "He says he thinks he's a terrific person. He's not judging his administration. He just likes being around him."

Mr. Betts, who made those remarks in an interview in December, added in a brief interview this week that in his view the current president and Mr. Clinton were charismatic people and that they "saw a little bit of themselves in each other, and they liked it."

Staff members for the three men say they first noticed the thaw last Memorial Day, when the 41st, 42nd and 43rd presidents, on stage after the dedication of the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, shared private laughs. At one point, George H. W. Bush gave Mr. Clinton a playful but vigorous shove as a reaction to something Mr. Clinton had said. Aides could not recall this past week what it was, but one person did say the current president joked at the time that Mr. Clinton's biography, "My Life," was so long that he would have to read one half and his father the other.

The warming trend continued a few weeks later, when the president unveiled Mr. Clinton's official portrait at the White House with such gracious words that aides said Mr. Clinton was stunned. Mr. Bush praised Mr. Clinton as a man "with far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need and the forward-looking spirit the Americans like in a president."

Mr. Clinton reddened and his eye teared as he acknowledged: "I had mixed feelings coming here today, and they were only confirmed by all those kind and generous things you've said. Made me feel like I was a pickle stepping into history."

[...]

When [Bush and Clinton] are together... they joke about the 41st president's skydiving and which one is in the best health.

"President Bush likes to say, 'I'm 80, for God's sake,' " [an aide] said. "And President Clinton says, 'Well, you're the one jumping out of airplanes.' "

Who knows if this friendship is real or not, or if it just something cooked up by the media to give us hope in these hyper-partisan times. I thought it was a good story, though. If these guys, who were at each others' throats in '92, can work together for the good of the world and even become close friends, perhaps we all can...

Well, it's a beautiful dream, anyway. It might not happen anytime soon, but at least there's hope.