FORMER US PRESIDENT George W Bush sometimes didn’t respond so well to criticism, according to his wife.

Laura Bush discussed various aspects of life with the president as she appeared alongside current First Lady Michelle Obama yesterday at the “First Ladies Summit” in Dar es Salaam – an event hosted by the George W. Bush Institute.

On the subject of watching one’s words – Mrs Bush said she once told George that his speech “wasn’t really very good” and that he then “drove into the garage wall.”

She said that when it came to telling your husband the truth, the point was that you needed to be “really careful, actually”.

Michelle told the assembled crowd that it was important for the president to have somewhere he could “switch off” after a hectic day at the Oval Office.

“I have found that my husband needs time to be off and the only time is when they walk into the doors of the residence and we sit down and have a family dinner,” Obama said. She added:

And the thing about having girls, they could care less about him!

The current and former first families have been carrying out several joint events in the country, as President Obama ends his tour of the African continent.

Obama and Bush jointly laid a wreath at a memorial to those killed in a US embassy bombing in Tanzania in 1998, in an appearance the White House said was proof that both parties in US politics  cared about Africa.

Pics: ‘Humbled’ Barack Obama visits Nelson Mandela’s prison cell

Read: Obama to meet Mandela’s family – but won’t visit him in hospital

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