The December 2004 tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia has brought former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton together for a common purpose.

The presidents toured the disaster area in a government plane. The plane had only one bedroom and another room with tables and chairs. Clinton offered the bedroom to the 80-year-old Bush.

The next morning, Bush came out of the bedroom to find Clinton asleep on the floor of the plane.

"We could have switched places,” Bush commented, “each getting half a night on the bed. But he deferred to me. That was a very courteous thing, very thoughtful, and that meant a great deal to me."