5月29日，美国前总统乔治•W•布什和比尔•克林顿卸任后首度同台在加拿大多伦多国际会展中心先后发表演讲，并一起讨论美国和加拿大面临的全球性和地区性挑战。布什和克林顿分属共和党和民主党，两人政见向来互异，这样同台演讲还是第一次。演讲结束之后，两人还参加了由加拿大前驻美国大使弗兰克•迈克肯纳主持的讨论会。讨论会一开始，布什就与克林顿“称兄道弟”，说：“我母亲说克林顿总统经常和我父亲一起同台参加活动，像是她的儿子。所以，见到你很高兴，兄弟。 ”

Former US President George W. Bush called former President Bill Clinton "his brother" and the two rarely disagreed in their first-ever appearance together on stage.

The Republican and Democratic ex-presidents defended each other at a Toronto forum¹ on Friday, disappointing some in the crowd of 6,000 who expected a more heated debate.

Bush said that he never liked it when previous administration officials criticized his government but said Clinton was respectful and never did.

Bush declined to criticize the Obama administration, in contrast to former Vice² President Dick Cheney, who has been a vocal³ 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 inspectors⁴ 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 premise⁵ 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 tsunami⁶, Hurricane Katrina and last summer's Hurricane Ike.

While both men 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.

Bush joked about the speaking fees, which are normally lucrative⁷ 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 two made speeches before taking questions from moderator Frank McKenna, Canada's former ambassador to the United States.

Asked why he didn't stop the killing⁸ in the Rwanda genocide when he was president in 1994, Clinton said he had no excuse or defense⁹.

"It's one of the two or three greatest regrets of my presidency," Clinton said.

Clinton said the US could have saved 250,000 or 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 ethnic¹⁰ diversity of his cabinet choices.

Christian¹¹ 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 Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Vocabulary:

weapons of mass destruction: 大规模杀伤性武器