Both George Bushes visit LI Association meeting

It certainly wasn't the first time George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush sat in a couple of armchairs and had a leisurely conversation, but when they did it Friday afternoon in Woodbury, it was the first time it had happened in public since both left the presidency.

The Bushes were relaxed, wistful and at times defensive about their terms in office and their relationships with each other and world leaders during an hourlong conversation. Outgoing Long Island Association president Matthew Crosson led the conversation in front of more than 1,000 business people at the group's annual meeting.

The elder Bush, 85, walked haltingly with a cane as he entered the Crest Hollow Country Club ballroom with his son.

The younger former President Bush, 63, got laughs after Crosson asked about his return to regular life.

"Since you're about to not have a job, I can understand why you ask that," Bush said. "You learn you're not president in unusual ways."

He said he learned while walking his dog, Barney, on his street in Dallas, hoping to apologize to neighbors for the disruption his presence caused.

"I had a plastic bag on my hand," he said. "I was picking up that which I had dodged for eight years."

It was one of several light moments during an event at which the media - targets of barbs from both former presidents - were almost entirely excluded. The LIA did not disclose the fee it paid the Bushes, but the group was happy to have landed them.

"It's kind of a coup for us," spokesman Gary Wojtas said.

The elder Bush said he felt enormous pride in 2001 when he became only the second former president to see his son get sworn in.

"Barbara [his wife] and I looked at each other and wondered if this was really happening," he said.

His son spoke forcefully about his decision to go to war in both Afghanistan and Iraq, as Daniel Murphy, father of Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor winner Lt. Michael Murphy of Patchogue, who was killed in Afghanistan, listened.

"I knew I'd be dealing with people like Murph," Bush said. "If I didn't believe it was right, I wouldn't have done it."

The elder Bush spoke of negotiating the end of the Cold War after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, noting that France and Britain were not eager to see West Germany reunite with communist East Germany.

He said French President Francois Mitterrand told him, "I like Germany so much there ought to be two of them."

Attendees liked what they heard.

"I thought it was fabulous," said Doug Manditch, chairman and chief executive of Empire National Bank, based in Islandia. He said he was struck by the younger Bush's defense of his policies.

"Certainly he believes in everything he's done," Manditch said.

"I enjoyed their candor," said Frank Cassano, chief executive of the Nassau chapter of the American Red Cross. "It was almost like having a fireside chat with old friends. . . . We saw the human being behind the president."