DALLAS (AP) - Former president George W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, missed President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. However, Obama’s predecessor sent the president best wishes from him and the former first lady.

The 66-year-old former president’s spokesman, Freddy Ford, issued a statement Monday evening saying, “President and Mrs. Bush wish President Obama and his family all the best for a wonderful inaugural celebration.”

Bush served two terms before Obama’s succession.

His father, former president George H.W. Bush, had sent a similar message of best wishes in his name and that of his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush. The elder Bush was released a week ago from a Houston hospital where he was treated for nearly two months for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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