Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency 
 
 DALLAS – Joined by an all-star cast from his days in the White House, former President George W. Bush plunged a shovel into dirt on Tuesday and kicked off construction of his presidential library. 
 
 As former Vice President Dick Cheney put it, “this may be the only shovel-ready project in America.” 
 
 Mr. Cheney’s attendance was a rare public appearance since his long hospital stay for heart trouble earlier this year. He appeared much thinner and more hesitant in his gait, and he used a cane to walk, although he put it aside when it came time to approach the lectern. After the speeches and ceremonial dirt turning, he quickly departed, while other luminaries lingered and chatted. 
 
 The groundbreaking on the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University here culminated an elaborately orchestrated return to the public stage for the nation’s 43rd president, who released his memoir, “Decision Points,” last week and gave a flurry of television and print interviews offering his take on his tumultuous eight years in office. 
 
 He emerged on stage Tuesday to raucous applause from more than 2,500 guests, including hundreds of veterans of his administration, who welcomed him back after two years of near-seclusion. Relaxed and smiling, winking at the crowd and slapping hands with his friends and advisers, Mr. Bush used the occasion to vow to stand up for the priorities of his presidency even as he avoids criticizing his successor. 
 
 “I believe the ultimate responsibility of a leader is to not do what is easy or popular but to do what is necessary and right,” Mr. Bush told the crowd gathered in a cathedral tent on the grounds of the 24-acre center. “The decisions of governing are on another president’s desk, and he deserves to make them without criticism from me. But staying out of current affairs and politics does not mean staying out of policy.” 
 
 Mr. Bush plans to use a public policy institute that will be housed at the center along with the traditional presidential library and museum to advance four causes he adopted as his own while in office: human freedom, global health, economic growth and education reform. He has also started a women’s initiative led by his wife, Laura Bush, who got final shot at addressing the crowd to promote the importance of fighting for women’s rights around the world. 
 
 Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush used the official program to reaffirm their friendship, despite their sharp disagreement in their final days in office over the president’s refusal to pardon Mr. Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, who was convicted of perjury in the C.I.A. leak case. Mr. Bush described their clash in his memoir and also revealed that he considered an offer from Mr. Cheney to replace him on the ticket in 2004. 
 
 Addressing the friendly crowd, Mr. Cheney said the response to Mr. Bush’s book showed that the country had begun to re-evaluate him. “Two years after you left office, judgments are a little more measured than they were,” Mr. Cheney said. “When times have been tough or the critics have been loud, you’ve always said you had faith in history’s judgment, and history is beginning to come around.” 
 
 Mr. Bush responded by hailing his No. 2 and recalling the decision to ask him to be his running mate in 2000. “As I stand here,” Mr. Bush said, “there is no doubt in my mind he was the right pick then, he was a great vice president of the United States, and I’m proud to call him friend.” ||||| Former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney shared a stage together Tuesday for the first time since the two left office, showering each other with praise as they reflected on the legacy of their administration and the decision to run for office together. 
 
 The two men united for the groundbreaking of the $300 million Bush Presidential Library on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas. Hundreds of Bush administration alumni, including former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and first lady Laura Bush, also attended. 
 
 Bush has said the library and affiliated George W. Bush Policy Institute will be "the focus of our attention and forum for our public service" for the rest of his life. The library and institute are also largely seen as vehicles through which Bush can continue to shape his presidential legacy. 
 
 "Two years after your tour at the White House ended," Cheney said to Bush, "judgments are a little more measured than they were. When times have been tough and the critics have been loud, you've always said you had faith in history's judgment. And history is beginning to come around." 
 
 Cheney, who has been one of the most ardent and outspoken defenders of the administration, appeared gaunt and frail in what was a rare public appearance since having heart surgery in July. 
 
 It was also the first time the men appeared together since the release of Bush's new memoir, "Decision Points," in which the former president writes that he considered replacing Cheney as his running mate during the 2004 re-election bid. 
 
 Bush began his remarks by directly addressing the episode and offering unambiguous support for the man he ended up keeping by his side. 
 
 "I'm asked about Dick Cheney," Bush said. "Here's what I say: Dick Cheney was the right pick in the year 2000, and as I stand here, there is no doubt in my mind he was the right pick then, he was a great vice president of the United States, and I'm proud to call him friend." 
 
 Today's ceremonies marked the first time Bush and Cheney appeared publicly together since leaving office in January 2009. They met face-to-face for the first time since leaving office in February. 
 
 Bush Breaks Silence in Memoir 
 
 Bush, who has generally kept a low profile since leaving office, has broken his silence in recent weeks with the publication of his book, which he has been working on since leaving office in early 2009. 
 
 "I wanted to give readers a glimpse of the presidency from my perspective," he said in a promotional video. 
 
 But until recently, the role of defending the administration had largely fallen to Cheney, who picked up the mantle again today. 
 
 "History is an account of what happened. But sometimes the greatest story of all is what did not happen," Cheney told the crowd. "And because you [Bush] were determined to throw back the enemy, we did not suffer another 9/11 or something even worse." 
 
 "I have a few more thoughts on the man and his presidency, but I'll save them when we're all back in Dallas again for the grand opening of the library," Cheney said. 
 
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 All five veterans of the Oval Office onstage could relate to that: If every memoirist is the star of his own story, every president is the hero of his own library. 
 
 So the protagonist who emerged as Mr. Bush’s library was formally dedicated on Thursday was a resolute leader who protected the nation after Sept. 11, 2001, raised education standards, pushed to overhaul the immigration system and brought peace to the war-torn nation of Sudan. His peers highlighted his AIDS-fighting program, which is credited with saving millions of lives in Africa. 
 
 The words Iraq and Afghanistan, however, never passed Mr. Bush’s lips, or those of the four other presidents who spoke. 
 
 They alluded to the American wars there by praising Mr. Bush’s deep concern for wounded soldiers and the families of those killed in combat, but put aside for a day the arguments over how the wars were conducted, why they were waged and what they accomplished. 
 
 “One of the benefits of freedom is that people can disagree,” Mr. Bush told a crowd of thousands on a bright Texas day. “It’s fair to say I created plenty of opportunities to exercise that right. But when future generations come to this library and study this administration, they’re going to find out that we stayed true to our convictions.” 
 
 For Mr. Bush, 66, who has spent the past four years listening in silence as his successor has faulted his leadership, this was an emotional day. Bathed in the admiration of a friendly crowd and enjoying a modest resurgence of public appreciation in recent surveys, he choked up as he finished speaking and wiped tears from his eyes after sitting down. 
 
 While critics have fumed about what they called the whitewashing of his record in the media blitz leading up to the library dedication, many Americans have been reminded about aspects of Mr. Bush they once liked. Advisers said they hoped the moment would help history draw a fuller picture. 
 
 “It’s never been about presenting him,” said Nicolle Wallace, who worked on Mr. Bush’s re-election campaign and in the White House. “It’s been about revealing him.” 
 
 The $250 million library, on the campus of Southern Methodist University, reframes many elements of the Bush presidency, domestic, economic and foreign, as part of his “freedom agenda,” linking together sometimes disparate policies in a single narrative thread. 
 
 “In democracy, the purpose of public office is not to fulfill personal ambition,” Mr. Bush said. “Elected officials must serve a cause greater than themselves. The political winds blow left and right, polls rise and fall, supporters come and go. But in the end leaders are defined by the convictions that they hold. And my deepest conviction, the guiding principle of the administration, is that the United States of America must strive to expand the reach of freedom.” 
 
 Jimmy Carter, Mr. Bush’s father and Mr. Clinton have opened their own libraries, likewise shaping their histories as they preferred. Mr. Obama can be expected to do the same soon enough. On this day, they collectively wrapped their arms around a fellow member of the club. 
 
 “We know President Bush the man,” Mr. Obama said. “To know the man is to like the man. Because he’s comfortable in his own skin. He knows who he is. He doesn’t put on any pretenses. He takes his job seriously, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He is a good man.” 
 
 Mr. Obama, whose first presidential campaign was built on opposition to the Iraq war, praised Mr. Bush for his bullhorn-in-the-rubble fortitude after Sept. 11 and said his predecessor fought for what he thought was best for his country. He linked his own effort to overhaul the immigration system to Mr. Bush’s. 
 
 “If we do that, it will be in large part thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush,” Mr. Obama said. 
 
 Mr. Clinton, who has become close to the Bush family, offered warm words and recounted how he and Mr. Bush used to talk politics while his successor was in office. Referring to the library behind him, he joked, “Dear God, I hope there’s no record of those conversations in this vast and beautiful building.” Hillary Rodham Clinton, sitting onstage with the other presidents and first ladies, laughed robustly. 
 
 Mr. Carter, one of the fiercest critics of the Iraq war, talked about how Mr. Bush ended war in Sudan and helped Africa. “I’m filled with admiration for you and deep gratitude for you about the contributions you’ve made to the most needy people on earth,” he told Mr. Bush. 
 
 The event was a public re-emergence for Mr. Bush’s father, who spent weeks in a hospital last winter and at one point appeared close to death. Now in a wheelchair because he has a form of Parkinson’s disease, Mr. Bush, 88, said only a few words, thanking those who made his son’s library. “It’s very special for Barbara and me,” he said. 
 
 The crowd stood in ovation. In a poignant moment, the former president — with the help of his son and Barbara Bush — lifted himself to his feet for a few moments in acknowledgment. 
 
 Also on hand was former Vice President Dick Cheney, who appeared revitalized after having a heart transplant last year. Wearing a cowboy hat, Mr. Cheney was introduced along with members of presidential families, but he had no speaking role. 
 
 Mr. Cheney makes only cameo appearances in the museum exhibits, and in an interview broadcast this week, the younger Mr. Bush described their relationship as “cordial” — a word that left the impression that the two were not close because of their fight in the waning days of the administration over a pardon for the vice president’s former chief of staff. 
 
 Perhaps to refute that, Mr. Bush offered warm words for Mr. Cheney from the stage. “He served with loyalty, principle and strength,” Mr. Bush said. “I’m proud to call you friend.”
– George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were best buds again today, giving each other high praise as they shared a stage for the first time since their final tense days in office, reports ABC News. The groundbreaking at Bush's presidential library at SMU also marked a rare appearance by Cheney since his heart trouble earlier this year. He appeared "much thinner" and used a cane, and didn't stick around long after the ceremony, reports the New York Times. Cheney on Bush: “Two years after you left office, judgments are a little more measured than they were. When times have been tough or the critics have been loud, you’ve always said you had faith in history’s judgment, and history is beginning to come around.” Bush on Cheney: "As I stand here, there is no doubt in my mind he was the right pick then, he was a great vice president of the United States, and I’m proud to call him friend."