[Old School Hound]

Some political friendships that transcended partisan party politics:


Bill Clinton & George H.W. Bush / George W. Bush ---This one became so close that it was borderline weird. Just goes to show that friendship and mutual respect can rise above divisive politics.


From The Wahington Post:

During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton clashed with his both his predecessor and the man who would replace him.

But during the 21st century, Clinton's relationship with the Bushes became decidedly more amicable, with all three former Presidents expressing newfound respect and admiration for each other. 

They've gotten so close that George W. now refers to Clinton as his "brother with a different mother," and his daughter Jenna calls Clinton "Uncle Bill."

Clinton and George H.W. Bush traveled together to help with relief efforts after a tsunami struck Southeast Asia and then later to the site of Hurricane Katrina, becoming fast friends along the way. 



President Joe Biden & Sen. John McCain

From  Business Insider ;   NBC

"My name's Joe Biden. I'm a Democrat. And I loved John McCain," Biden said at the beginning of his emotional eulogy of John McCain during his August memorial service. 

"We'd talk about family," Biden remembered of his friendship with McCain. "We'd talk about politics. We'd talk about international relations. We'd talk about promise — the promise of America."

While from different political parties, McCain and Biden held a famously close friendship over the decades they served in Congress together, and lasted when they ran on opposing presidential tickets in 2008. 

"Above all, we understood the same thing: All politics is personal," Biden said. "It's all about trust. I trusted John with my life, and I would, and I think he would trust me with his." 





John Boehner  and Barack O'Bama

From Business Insider; Cleveland.com ;   The Washington Post ; Vox


The former Democratic president and Republican house speaker from Ohio often clashed on policy — famously so when the 2011 "grand bargain" budget deal fell apart — but still maintained a respectful working relationship while Boehner was speaker. 

The two would famously discuss strategy and hash out disagreements in the Rose Garden outside the White House, during which Boehner would smoke cigarettes and Obama, a former smoker, would chew nicotine gum. 

Boehner even recalled having to "sneak in" into the White House to meet with Obama to avoid the press from "going crazy." 

"We were having a nice conversation and finally the president says, 'Boehner, man, I'm going to miss you," Boehner said of Obama's phone call to him after he retired as Speaker of the House in 2015.  

Boehner even made a cameo in a comedic video Obama showed at the 2016 White House Correspondents Dinner during which they joked around and watched "Toy Story."

"I understand him, he understands me, and while we had big disagreements, we were able to get an awful lot of things done, somehow. Don't ask me how," he added. 




[Image: https://i.insider.com/5b4778d6d87a8e1d00...&auto=webp]



I just want to say – you know – can we, can we all get along?     --- Rodney King