BIDDEFORD — While the presidential campaign descends into the bickering that precedes an election, the audience at the University of New England on Thursday learned about an unexpected source of camaraderie for our nation’s leaders: the friendship that blossomed between current and former presidents, often across party lines, and characterized the so-called “Presidents Club.”

And they were privileged enough to have a member of that most-exclusive club in their presence: former President George H.W. Bush, who attended along with former First Lady Barbara Bush. The Bush family compound is in Kennebunkport.

The crowd of several hundred at the Harold Alfond Ice Arena at UNE listened as two editors of TIME magazine spun tales about the bizarre and opaque, but often warm, relationships between former presidents, such as former President Nixon and President Clinton, who told Larry King that after Nixon’s death he would often pick up the phone to call the former Republican president out of habit.

The talk came as part of the George and Barbara Bush Distinguished Lecture Series, whose past speakers have included military leaders, presidential speechwriters and a member of the royal family of Qatar. According to UNE’s website, the lecture series “honor(s) the legacy of George and Barbara Bush as political and community leaders.”

The speakers were editors Nancy Gibbs, who serves as the managing editor of TIME magazine, and Michael Duffy, who has covered Washington for many years. Their lecture was based on a book they co-wrote in 2013 titled, “The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Secret Fraternity.”

Gibbs began by discussing the founding of the President’s Club – beginning with the amiable relationship between Herbert Hoover, a conservative often criticized for his slow reaction to the Great Depression, and Harry Truman, who contacted Hoover as he floundered in the aftermath of World War II. Gibbs drew a parallel to the Syrian refugee crisis and highlighted the success of the Hoover-Truman team, who together “saved more lives than any two men in the 20th century,” she said.

Another highlight was the relationship between former President Truman and Eisenhower. Truman felt that Eisenhower betrayed his beliefs during his presidency and avoided him until they met at the funeral of John F. Kennedy. “By the time they got back to Blair House … they ended up drinking the night away and reconciled,” Gibbs said.

Duffy, who described his role in the lecture as “getting to the living ones,” detailed the range of presidents following Johnson, including an anecdote about former President Reagan teaching President Clinton how to salute – “Raise it up like it’s got honey, and then put it down quickly like it’s got something else on it.” While he eagerly explored the colorful and contradictory ramifications of the Clinton presidency, he understandably demurred to dig into the legacy of the Bushes, describing it as a “wonderful thing … to have a father and a son” be president.

Windfred Chisholm of Saco, who said he is interested in the early presidencies of the United States, said that it was a privilege to see former President Bush Sr. at the event.

“Its unique to have (President Bush). … I’m thrilled,” Chisholm said. “I’ve (also) seen both Gibbs and Duffy on political shows.”