New book claims George W Bush said Barack Obama 'has no clue'

George W Bush believed Barack Obama was "a cat" who "has no clue", dismissed Sarah Palin as a nonentity and insulted Hillary Clinton's posterior, according to a new account of life in the White House under the former president.

For all his politeness in public, Mr Bush is alleged to have privately mocked fellow big name politicians, claims his former speech writer Matt Latimer, whose book Speech Less: Tale of a White House Survivor has been awaited with some anxiety by members of the previous administration.

Latimer, who was appointed in the last months of Mr Bush's presidency, had intimate access to the workings of the administration.

In his dealings with the press, and in accidental recordings with other world leaders, Mr Bush often displayed what has been called a patronising, "frat boy" sense of humour.

Latimer reveals that Mr Bush always believed the former first lady, Mrs Clinton, would win the Democratic nomination but thought she may have underestimated the job at hand.