Former US president George W. Bush called former US president Bill Clinton “his brother” and the two rarely disagreed in their first-ever appearance together on stage.
The Republican and Democratic former presidents defended each other at a Toronto forum on Friday, disappointing some in the crowd of 6,000 who expected a more heated debate.
Bush said he never liked it when previous administration officials criticized his government, but said Clinton was respectful and never did.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Bush declined to criticize the administration of US President Barack Obama, in contrast to former vice president Dick Cheney, who has been a vocal critic of Obama. Bush, who wasn’t asked about Cheney, said there are “plenty of critics in America.”
Bush and Clinton did differ on Iraq. Clinton said UN inspectors should have been given more time to conduct the search for weapons of mass destruction and Bush should have concentrated on Afghanistan. Bush disagreed.
“I don’t buy the premise that our attention was diverted,” Bush said.
Bush joked about how much time his father, former president George H.W. Bush, and Clinton spend together. He said his mother, Barbara Bush, “said president Clinton and father share the stage so much, he’s like a son to her.”
He said: “So, brother, it’s good to see you.”
Clinton and the elder Bush have worked together to lead fundraising after disasters such as the southeast Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and last summer’s Hurricane Ike.
While both Bush and Clinton received polite applause from the audience at Toronto’s convention center, a couple hundred protesters demonstrated outside. The organizers declined to say how much the men were paid for the event, called “A conversation with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.”
Ticket prices sold for C$200 to C$2,500 (US$2,750).
Bush joked about the speaking fees, which are normally lucrative for former presidents.
“President Clinton and I used to believe in free speech,” Bush said before pausing. “So thanks very much for coming — we are glad you’re here.”
The unusual joint appearance found its way into the last monologue performed by comedian Jay Leno in his final night hosting the Tonight Show.
After noting the presidents would appear together that night, Leno remarked wistfully: “I wish I had one more day.”
The two made speeches before taking questions from moderator Frank McKenna, Canada’s former ambassador to the US.
Asked why he didn’t stop the killing in the Rwanda genocide when he was president in 1994, Clinton said he had no excuse or defense.
“It’s one of the two or three greatest regrets of my presidency,” Clinton said.
Clinton said the US could have saved between 250,000 and 400,000 of the 800,000 people who died had he sent about 20,000 troops. Bush defended Clinton, saying 20,000 troops could not have been mobilized quickly.
Clinton praised Bush for his AIDS initiatives and also hailed the racial and ethnic diversity of his cabinet choices.
Christian Darbyshire and Andy McCreath, partners in tinePublic Inc, organized the event. They hosted Bush for his first speech since leaving office in March and have also hosted others like former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘BODIES EVERYWHERE’: The incident occurred at a Filipino festival celebrating an anti-colonial leader, with the driver described as a ‘lone suspect’ known to police Canadian police arrested a man on Saturday after a car plowed into a street party in the western Canadian city of Vancouver, killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election. A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police wrote on X. The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a new naval destroyer, claiming it as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, state media said yesterday. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim attended the launching ceremony for the 5,000-tonne warship on Friday at the western port of Nampo. Kim framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the US and its allies in Asia, who have been expanding joint military exercises amid rising tensions over the North’s nuclear program. He added that the acquisition
RSS