Jane Fonda brands US President George W. Bush "very impressive" - despite being vehemently opposed to his war on Iraq.

Fonda, who was both praised and vilified for her anti-Vietnam war stance in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was quoted by Internet portal Femalefirst as saying, "I thought he (George Bush) was very impressive. I don't know him, but I have always thought if I were alone in a room with him, I would really like him."

The 60s-something actress, who had met the president and his wife Laura at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, said she had great regard for the first lady as well. "I was at the White House correspondents' dinner the other night, and Laura Bush was really funny."

Fonda had caused a storm in 1972, when she posed with North Vietnamese soldiers in Hanoi. Three decades later, she continues to be a peace campaigner, who blasted the current conflict in Iraq as wrong. "I think it's a mistake and I think that we should get out."