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DALLAS (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday praised his predecessor at the dedication of his library for showing strength and resolve in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks and said if Congress passes immigration reform "it will be in large part thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush."

Obama spoke along with all four living former presidents in a rare reunion honoring one of their own at the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. "To know President George W. Bush is to like him," Obama said.

The presidents - Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter - were cheered by a crowd of former White House officials and world leaders as they took the stage together to open the dedication. They were joined on stage by their wives - the nation's current and former first ladies - for the outdoor ceremony on a sun-splashed Texas morning.

It was a day for recollections and reveries, and no recriminations or remorse.

The five men have been described as members of the world's most exclusive club, but Obama said they are "more like a support group."

"Being president above all is a humbling job," Obama said. He there were moments that they make mistakes and wish they could turn back the clock, but "we love this country and we do our best."

The leaders put aside the profound ideological differences that have divided them for years for a day of pomp and pleasantries. For Bush, 66, the ceremony also marked his unofficial return to the public eye four years after the end of his deeply polarizing presidency. "Oh happy day," Bush said as he took the stage.