Bush and Clinton: Unlikely partners in crime

Name two people you thought would never be friends.

You might think that about former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, but you'd be wrong, CBS News correspondent Bill Plante reports.

They were together again Monday in Washington, introducing a program for young leaders and swapping stories about being an ex-president.

"We were laughing about going to restaurants and having to spend our time taking selfies with people," Clinton said.

Bush added, "At least they're still asking, you know?"

It's a regular bromance, two former presidents laughing it up like old friends, and sharing old memories.

"There's a lot to admire about Bill Clinton, first of all he's an awesome communicator," Bush said.

"He used to call me twice a year in his second term just to talk," Clinton said. "We'd talk depending on how much time he had, somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes for several years. He asked my opinion. Half the time he disagreed with it."

President Clinton first bonded with Mr. Bush's father when the two teamed up to raise money for victims of the 2004 tsunami. They became so close that Barbara Bush told CSPAN she began to see the younger Democrat as family.

"I think that he thinks of George a little bit like the father he didn't have," Barbara said. "I love Bill Clinton -- maybe not his politics -- but I love Bill Clinton."

On Monday, the younger Bush and Clinton shared their thoughts on leadership, with only a glancing reference to 2016 and a possible contest between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.

"Remember the woman I think in Canada that asked us about, very dramatically said, what about another Clinton-Bush matchup, and my answer was the first one didn't turn out too good," Bush said.

Chelsea Clinton is expecting a child later this year.

"Only two people who have this number and they're both related to me, I hope I'm not being told I'm about to become a premature grandfather," Clinton said after his phone went off during the event.

So Mr. Bush offered some advice on being a grandparent:

"Be prepared to fall completely in love," Bush said. "It's gonna be an awesome period for you, and um, get ready to also be like the lowest person in the pecking order in your family."

The presidency is often called "the world's loneliest job." That's why most ex-presidents find they have more in common than not. But Bill Clinton and George W. Bush seem to have taken it to another level.

Barbara Bush says her sons call Mr. Clinton "my brother by another mother."