Jay Leno, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush

by Mark Silva

Two former presidents, at odds politically but in arms personally, shared a stage yesterday, and one "retiring" late-night comedian wishes that he had one more day on his own stage to deal with this one.

Former President George W. Bush called fellow former President Bill Clinton "his brother" at the joint appearance in Toronto.

Bush, suggesting that there are "plenty of critics in America,'' averted any criticism for his own successor, President Barack Obama. But Bush and Clinton did allow some space between themselves on the question of the invasion of Iraq: Clinton said U.N. inspectors should have been given more time to search for weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion. Bush defended the invasion, and denied suggestions that it took the eye of the U.S. off the real war on terror: "I don't buy the premise that our attention was diverted.''

Bush, noting how much time his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and Clinton spend together on disaster relief efforts and the like, said mother Barbara Bush has suggested that, "President Clinton and father share the stage so much, he's like a son to her."

Jay Leno, the Tonight Show host who performed his final late-night appearance last night - yet really will only be moving to a new 10 pm EDT slot on NBC this fall to make late-night room for Conan O'Brien, suggested in his finale that Bush and Clinton might offer some fodder for another night tonight.

"I wish I had one more day,'' Leno said.

The organizers of the event, "A conversation with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton,'' with tickets going for $200 to $2,500, and an audience of about 6,000, declined to say how much the former presidents were paid.

"President Clinton and I used to believe in free speech," Bush told the audience. "So thanks very much for coming -- we are glad you're here."

(Not everyone was glad Bush was there: The appearance prompted a protest outside Tornonto's Metro Convention center. Photo below by Jim Ross / The Canadian Press. And the AP contributed to this report.)