At least one Bush, patriarch George H.W. Bush, has been singing his heart out with author Jon Meacham, whose biography of the 41st president will soon be released.

Early excerpts and reviews already have wags talking and tails wagging for more morsels from the well-stocked pantry of Bush Sr.’s mind. Among other nuggets, we’ve learned that his favorite term for the likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld is “iron ass,” a phrase one can’t resist saying as much as possible.

Cheney, who was secretary of defense under the first Bush, has responded that he considers the description a compliment, while Rumsfeld replied that Bush is “getting up in years.”

Then again, perhaps the 83-year-old Rumsfeld was projecting. In any case, Meacham’s book has been a work in progress for several years. These weren’t just-yesterday’s musings. Meacham said Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he offered Bush a chance to clarify his statements shortly before going to publication.