AUSTIN, Texas, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, 90, was hospitalized in Houston, Texas, late on Tuesday after experiencing shortness of breath, a spokesman for the 41st commander-in-chief said in a statement. Bush was taken by ambulance to the Houston Methodist Hospital as a precaution, and 'will be held for observation, again as a precaution,' the spokesman said.