Ive always wondered if the presidents did this. You have to figure… there are only a handful of people who have experience being the President, so if you want some advice, you don’t really have much options.

I wonder if there’ll come a day when Obama gives GW a call…?

Quote :

"Asked on CBS' ''Face the Nation'' whether it was true that he often called Clinton, Bush replied: ''I don't know about often, but I did. I called him. He didn't call me because he knows how busy a president is. I called him and we chatted on occasion.’’"

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/17/us/politics/AP-US-Bush-Clinton.html

1/17/2010 12:59:25 PM

Yeah, every time a group of Presidents gets together there is commentary about it being the most exclusive club in the world, and they all share a certain bond based on the weight of the responsibility.

They're all consummate politicians as well, so they share certain other pathologies in common

1/17/2010 1:23:10 PM

bush is not as dumb as people think he is

1/17/2010 4:23:19 PM

Obama just called Bush:

Clinton, Bush join forces for Haiti quake relief
Sun Jan 17, 2010



http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60D5JO20100117?type=politicsNews

And I think that it is a very good idea for a number of reasons for a sitting president to speak with former presidents.

1/17/2010 5:54:27 PM

Didn't Clinton and Bush Sr. team up and travel the world solving mysteries or something?

1/17/2010 5:59:42 PM

^ Yeah, the "mystery" of getting aid to tsunami victims.

1/17/2010 6:02:04 PM

I honestly think Obama is too arrogant and vindictive to call Bush

1/17/2010 7:32:37 PM

^^ Oops, looks like you missed the item called a "joke" in that phrase.

1/17/2010 8:38:53 PM

Quote :

"Didn't Clinton and Bush Sr. team up and travel the world solving mysteries or something?"

I used to watch this after "Animaniacs" every day.

1/17/2010 11:56:04 PM

Quote :

"I honestly think Obama is too arrogant and vindictive to call Bush "

I thought arrogance and vindictiveness were qualities the right appreciated?

1/18/2010 2:17:26 AM

I've occasionally thought that maybe we ought to have a situation where former presidents were obligated to stay in some sort of purely advisory body that sat with the current president from time to time.

I base this on what strikes me as the good British idea of PM's meeting with the monarch once a week. Yes, the queen has no real power, but she's been around and important for about as long as the last couple of PM's have been alive. She talked to Winston fucking Churchill about decisions of importance. Seems like she could probably offer some useful insight.

Just seems like we could use former presidents for a similar purpose today, especially in an era when they can have their meetings through teleconferencing and whatnot, so as not to impede their careers. The current president would of course be under no obligation to listen to any of it, but even if you absolutely loathe a former president it might be wise to hear him out, if only so you can do the exact opposite. It's all the more possible now given that former presidents generally have a decent rapport, even when they fought each other bitterly.

I know it's a silly thought that will never happen, but whatever.

1/18/2010 4:41:54 AM

^^^^ Oops, looks like you missed me simply continuing the "joke." Try to keep up.

And I will hazard a guess that Mr. Joshua is a lot more accepting of me than you.

1/18/2010 6:21:57 AM

^2

Clearly what this country needs is more monarchy.

1/18/2010 9:15:24 AM

Clearly what this country needs is more monarchy cowbell.

1/18/2010 9:21:12 AM

The relationship to actual monarch is very tenuous.

I'm talking about a situation in which the president can count on getting advice from the very small group of people who have also had the burden of being president. The meetings/discussion should, obviously, be held to the strictest level of secrecy, so that former presidents can't go to the press saying "Well I told him this but he did that!" in order to support their own candidate.

1/19/2010 2:37:08 AM

Quote :

"The relationship to actual monarch is very tenuous."

It was your comparison, no?

1/19/2010 9:02:45 AM