President Jokes About ‘New Brother’ Clinton

WASHINGTON —  President Bush says Bill Clinton has become so close to his father that the Democratic former president is like a family member.

Former President George H.W. Bush has worked with Clinton to raise money for victims of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean and Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast.

Asked about his father and Clinton, Bush quipped, “Yes, he and my new brother.”

He added: “That’s a good relationship. It’s a fun relationship to watch.”

Bush’s comments were in an interview with CBS News broadcast Sunday.

He said former presidents shared experiences that others could not understand. “And so I can understand why ex-presidents are able to put aside old differences,” he said.

Bush jokingly referred to speculation that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the former president’s wife, would seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency. He had earlier referred to the former first lady as “formidable.”

“Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton,” he said, referring to how Bill Clinton had followed his father, and how, perhaps, Sen. Clinton could follow him.