Pelosi and Bush, a relationship that’s getting friendlier

This could be the start of a beautiful (and bipartisan) friendship.

An insider confirmed a Washington Post report that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) engaged in a bit of “floral diplomacy” last week, shipping a bouquet to former President George W. Bush. The arrangement, a gift marking Bush’s 65th birthday, came with a note that read, “Mr. President, Happy Birthday! Welcome to the Medicare years!”

It’s not the first time the House minority leader has reached out to Bush since he left office.

In May, Pelosi told reporters that she picked up the phone and rang the 43rd president after Osama bin Laden’s death: “Earlier today, I called President Bush to congratulate him and to thank him for the leadership role that he had played in this quest over the years.”

But flowers and phone calls don’t exactly mean these two have turned a new leaf. When Bush left the White House, Pelosi said it “was like having a 10-ton anvil lifted from my shoulders.” Ouch.

And during a Tuesday press conference, Pelosi, 71, took another jab at the birthday boy, when she recalled a meeting she had with the president after the 2006 midterm elections: “President Bush came into the meeting, didn’t sit down, said hello, and before he said goodbye, he said, ‘This is my package. Take it or leave it.’ Now, there is a vast difference there. This president [Obama], again, has been open and willing.”

Maybe it’s too soon to call this unlikely duo BFFs just yet.

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