Bush praises Clinton as 'forward-looking'

US: He is, said President Bush, a man of "incredible energy and great personal appeal", with "a deep and far-ranging knowledge…

US: He is, said President Bush, a man of "incredible energy and great personal appeal", with "a deep and far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need", and "the forward-looking spirit" that Americans like in a leader.

The person being honoured by the Republican president in the White House yesterday is also someone who would dearly love to see Mr Bush ejected from office this autumn and will do his damnest to achieve that end.

Mr Bill Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Hillary, had come to the lion's den for the unveiling of their official White House portraits, a rite of passage for every former president and first lady.

Unintentionally on Mr Bush's part, the occasion also marked the end of the week of mourning for former president Ronald Reagan, and the start of the summer of Bill Clinton.

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The former Democratic president will return to the forefront of American politics with the razzmatazz surrounding the publication next Tuesday of his 957-page memoir, My Life, which is set to become the bestselling political book in American publishing history.

The 1.5 million copies of the first edition have already been accounted for in advance orders, and Mr Clinton's publishers are racing to print a second impression in time for a nationwide book tour that will become part of the election campaign.

The barrage of publicity from the book is intended to play into the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry, according to aides for both Mr Clinton and the Democratic presidential candidate.

Unlike former vice president Mr Al Gore, Mr Kerry plans to embrace Mr Clinton, and employ his enormous popularity to drum up enthusiasm for the campaign, especially in key states like Ohio.

For his part, Mr Clinton, who talks to the Massachusetts senator once every two weeks or so, is straining to get out onto the hustings and use his book-signing events to drum up support for Mr Kerry.

Mr Clinton will apparently try not to overshadow Mr Kerry, however, especially at the Democratic Party convention in Boston at the end of next month.

Mr Clinton is scheduled to speak on the first evening of the convention but it has been agreed with Democratic officials that he will not hold book-signing events during the four-day event, which is designed to showcase Mr Kerry to the American electorate.

A political adviser to Mr Clinton said the ex-president wanted to make sure that he did nothing to intrude on the attention paid to Mr Kerry but wanted to help in any way he could.

"He knows John Kerry and he likes him a lot and thinks he would be a great president," Mr Steve Richetti told the New York Times. "At book events, I think he will be asked about Kerry and will be able to talk about John Kerry in a very thoughtful and compelling way."

Mr Kerry said recently about Clinton, "I intend to get him to campaign as much as he can, I think he's good."

The strategy carries some risk as voters may associate the Kerry campaign with the scandals during the Clinton administration.

By "sucking up the oxygen in the room" the charismatic Mr Clinton will force Mr Kerry to compete for attention, and he "will look a decided second-best", warned former Clinton strategist Dick Morris.

Ironically, Mr Bush went some considerable way yesterday to improve the image of his predecessor among Republicans.

Mr Bush praised the Clintons during a ceremony at which the former first couple unveiled the oil paintings of themselves by Simmie Knox, the first African-American to paint a presidential portrait for the White House.

"As you might know, my father and I have decided to call each other by numbers," Mr Bush said. "He's 41, I'm 43. It's a great pleasure to honour number 42. We're glad you're here, 42.

"The years have done a lot to clarify the strengths of this man," Mr Bush told assembled members of both administrations. "He filled this house with energy and joy. He's a man of enthusiasm and warmth, who could make a compelling case and effectively advance the causes that drew him to public service."

Clinton was also a man of charm, intellect, drive, determination and optimism, said Mr Bush, adding to laughter, "and after all, you've got to be optimistic to give six months of your life running the McGovern campaign in Texas" - a reference to Clinton's work on the failed presidential campaign of Democrat George McGovern in 1984.