by Mark Silva and updated
A retiring President George W. Bush, delivering the final and most introspective press conference of his long presidency, acknowledged today the several "mistakes" and "disappointments'' of his tumultuous two terms in the Oval Office, yet voiced a defiant insistence that he made the choices necessary to defend the nation from threats that still persist today.
"This is the ultimate exit interview,'' said Bush, who summoned reporters last-minute to his 47th and final press show.
Bush, also acknowledging "the historic moment'' of the swearing-in of his successor, President-elect Barack Obama, next week as a signal of how far the nation has come in race relations, lavished the Democrat with best wishes and a prediction that he will find strength in the office from a loving family "a 45-second commute'' away from the Oval Office..
"I consider myself fortunate to have a front-row seat for what is going to be a historic moment,'' said Bush, who will hand off the presidency to Obama on Jan. 20. ""President-elect Obama's election does speak volumes about how far this country has come.''
And Bush, insisting that there can only be one leader "in the Klieg lights at one time,'' said that he will leave any eleventh-hour decisions this week on coping with the nation's economic crisis to his successor - refraining from acting on the second half of a $700-billion financial institution bailout that he hastily won from Congress at his term's end unless Obama asks him to act on it. (After the press conference, Obama indeed called on Bush to release the second $350 billion, and the president agreed.)
The 43rd president, who will leave office with Obama's inauguration eight days from today and has endured years of criticism from the media, also opened this final session in the West Wing of the White House with praise for the working press.
"We have been through a lot together,'' Bush told his audience. "Through it all, I have respected you. Sometimes I didn't like the stories you wrote...'' And, then, with a self-effacing joke about his own occasional lapses in diction, the president told his audience: "Sometimes I felt you mis-underestimated me.''
Asked about the $350-billion second half of a financial bailout that the Treasury Department still holds, and which the Congress must approve, Bush said, "I have talked to the president-elect... I told him if he felt he needed the 350, I would be happy to ask for it... He hasn't asked me to make the request, yet and I don't intend to make the request unless he specifically asks for it.''
Asked about his many and most strident critics, Bush said, "You know, most people I see when I move around the country, they're not angry, they're not hostile... They're civil... (Among the others, he said: "I don't know why they get angry. I don't know why they get hostile.... Presidents can try to avoid hard decisions and therefore avoid controversy... That's just not my nature.
"In times, of war, people get emotional,'' Bush said. "I've never spent a lot of time listening to the loud voices.''
And with this, the president's own voice rose, as he stated with some defiance: It would be wrong, he said, "if I allowed the loud voices to prevent me from doing what is necessary to protect this country.''
Bush, who gradually has confronted some of his regrets during a series of interviews in his final months in office, offered his own full accounting at this press conference.
"History will look back,'' said Bush.
"Clearly, putting 'Mission Accomplished' on an aircraft carrier was a mistake,'' he said of the banner draped across the carrier in the Pacific where he landed in a fighter jet weeks after the invasion of Iraq to declare major military action completed.
"Obviously some of my rhetoric was a mistake,'' said Bush, who previously has voiced regret over threatening to find Osama bin Laden "dead or alive'' or declaring of the nation's enemies: "Bring it On.'' He did not mention bin Laden, the still elusive al Qaeda leader and sponsor of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on this day, however.
"I thought about Hurricane Katrina,'' Bush said. "Could I have done something different?'' Such as landing Air Force One at Baton Rouge, La., instead of making the low fly-over above New Orleans that he did with the presidential aircraft days after the storm deluged the Gulf Coast, But then, he said, people would have criticized him for distracting law enforcement in the region at a critical time with the landing of the president's jet.
"People say the federal response was slow,'' he complained. "Don't tell me the federal response was slow when 30,000 people were pulled off the roofs by helicopters'' after the flood.
"Running the Social Security (reform) right after the elections was a mistake,'' allowed Bush, who campaigned for his failing reforms in the months after his reelection. "I should have argued for immigration reform.''
"There have been disappointments,''the president said. "Abu Graib (the abuse of U.S.-held prisoners in Iraq) was a huge disappointment.... Not having weapons of mass destruction (in Iraq) was a disappointment.''
But, asked about the standing of the U.S. in the eyes of the world faltering as a result of his actions, he said, "I strongly disagree that our moral standing has been (diminished.'''
There are few who can understand what the presidency is like, the president said - they met for lunch at the White House last week. They included his father, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who all welcomed Obama to the Oval Office and then lunch.
"President Obama is fixin' to do that,'' Bush said.
"He'll walk in the Oval Office,'' Bush said. "And there will be a moment where the responsibilities of the president will land squarely on his shoulders.... I wish him all the very best.''
"He will feel the effects the moment he enters the Oval Office,'' said Bush, who conceded that the first thing he worried about was his speech. "He's a better speechwriter than me.''
Bush maintained that he will step aside for his successor.
"When I get out of here, I'm getting off the stage,'' said Bush, who has served since January 2001. "I believe there ought to be one person in the Klieg lights at a time...''
"I have never felt isolated,'' Bush said, "and I don't think he will. Obama's loving family will prevent the next president from feeling any isolation in the job, said Bush, a father of two grown twin daughters. "He's a 45-second commute away from a great wife and daughters who love him dearly...
"The job is so exciting and so profound that the disappointments will be a minor irritant,'' Bush said.
Asked about what people might conclude about his own execution of the biggest moments of his presidency, Bush spoke of the war in Iraq: "Hard things don't happen overnight...
"In terms of the economy, I inherited a recession. I'm ending on a recession,'' he said. "In the meantime, there were 52 months of job growth....'' He defended the two rounds of tax cuts that he won during his first term, and acknowledged that, at the end of his second term, he "chucked aside some of my free-market principles'' in pushing for a massive infusion of federal money into a stumbling financial market. The bailout, he maintained, has helped "ease the credit crunch'' that threatened a disaster.
On the failure to secure peace in the Middle East, Bush said, "I'm for a sustainable cease-fire.... We believe that the best way to ensure there is a cease-fire is to work with Egypt to stop the smuggling of arms into Gaza... Why haven't we achieved peace?. That's a good question... It's a long time since they've had peace in the Middle East... people are always willing to murder to stop the advance of freedom.... Will this ever happen? I think it will.. and I think we have advanced the process.''
The president, who has granted few pardons during his terms, was asked if he might consider pre-emptive pardons for members of his administration who engaged in questionable interrogation practices or, say, were involved in the disputed firings of several U.S. attorneys. "I won't be discussing pardons here at this press conference,'' said Bush, refusing to elaborate.
Bush joked with reporters, suggesting to CNN's Suzanne Malveaux that people used to call her Susanne, and now it's Su-zahn - "I finally got your name right.''.When he told another reporter that covering Obama will be "a cool job,'' and the reporter replied that it's not as cool as Bush's job, the president quickly replied: "What, retirement?''
While suggesting that he will step out of the limelight in retirement, Bush did allow that his "Type-A personality'' may make that difficult. "I just can't envision myself, you know, the big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt sitting on some beach,'' said Bush, adding a voluble aside at the end of the remark -- "particularly since I quit drinking.''
Suggesting that he had never been able to escape the presidency, not when on vacation at his Crawford, Texas, ranch, with his wife Laura, and not when he "tried as hard" as he could to forget things while mountain-biking, he made this prediction about retirement:
"I'll wake up in Crawford on Wednesday morning... I expect I'll make Laura coffee.''
Comments
George W. Bush is spending too much time worry about his legacy. Regardless of his efforts, he will forever be known as the WORST PRESIDENT EVER!
Posted by: Dave | January 12, 2009 11:10 AM
You know I am a Democrat and I have been so frustrated by the Bush presidency. But I must say that I have always kind of liked the guy despite his ineptitude. In a very weird way, I'll miss hearing his flawed logic and poor vocabulary.
Posted by: Tony | January 12, 2009 11:17 AM
Yes, by all means...- go make Laura some coffee!.....
Posted by: Roc | January 12, 2009 11:35 AM
Go away already!
Posted by: Tim | January 12, 2009 11:44 AM
You think it's bad now, wait until you hear what the historians have to say.
Posted by: Joe | January 12, 2009 11:57 AM
Bush was a complete failure on all counts. How anyone can support this excuse of a man is beyond me.
Posted by: RJinchi | January 12, 2009 11:59 AM
Bush and the Republican imbeciles who support him are in denial. They are delusional if they honestly believe Bush was a favorable President. His legacy will be the worst President in U.S. history. He has been lying to and misleading the American people since the day he took office.
Yeah, go down to your daddy's ranch and make Laura some coffee and pretend your a cowboy. You're not even a native of the Lone Star state.
Posted by: Doug R. | January 12, 2009 12:04 PM
Mr. President:
Thanks for rebuilding the infrastructure of our intelligence agencies, and thanks for 7 years of security.
Posted by: Mark | January 12, 2009 12:08 PM
President Bush will always be one of my favorite Presidents. He is a man of character, commitment, and courage. He made the tough decisions, and saw them through, despite calls to do the politically expedient thing. Defending this country is an enormously difficult task and requires a person of strong character and courage to make those tough decisions. Did his administration make mistakes? Sure, all Administrations do. They are human and humans make mistakes. But being a leader doesn't mean doing what is popular. It means doing what is right. Anyone can lead by polling data, just ask Clinton, but true leadership means defending your decisions and principles and then seeing it through. The War in Iraq is nearly won now, even though Harry "the town Idiot" Reid called it lost.There are many other Presidents in history that were far worse than President Bush- Jimmy Carter to name one.
Posted by: Photoman | January 12, 2009 12:11 PM
Give it up mindless democrats. You will see how Bush inherited a slowing Clinton economy and how the congressional democrats, in an attempt to appease all their constituents, led to the economic situation we face today.
Posted by: Alderra Lorne | January 12, 2009 12:17 PM
Delusional to the end! Just love how he "inherited a recession"?! Say what? The economy was humming & we had a surplus under Clinton. And NO weapons of mass destruction "was a disappointment"? Better to have plenty of things available to kill people with,eh? No, bad for GWB cuz that was part of his sales job! And he "should have argued for immigration reform"? Yeah, you should have closed the border on 9/11 & left them that way. All visas should have been ditched. That would have greatly improved our security & eased the job crunch & our debt by a huge margin. GWB--worst president in my lifetime, maybe in history!
Posted by: karen | January 12, 2009 12:17 PM
We wouldn't have had any of these problems if Clinton had found his balls in '98 and decided to take care of Al Qaeda back then, but as well all know, his balls were to busy thinkin about something else.
Posted by: Tyler | January 12, 2009 12:24 PM
George W is a good man. History will prove that he made the right decisions to protect our country. You liberals are too emotional to see the forest through the trees. Lets all come together to support Obama in these difficult times.
Posted by: Matt | January 12, 2009 12:26 PM
We wouldn't have had any problems with Afghanistan if Clinton had found his ball in '98 and decided to take care of Al Qaeda, a clear threat; but as we all know, his balls were to busy thinkin about other things.
Posted by: Tyler | January 12, 2009 12:26 PM
As you read his comments...so many garbled and groping, how can one not assume that is how he actually thinks, and eventually, how he acts. He is sorry WMDs were not found in Iraq! So tell me, how did your vote for Bush turn out for you?
Posted by: Rich Borowski | January 12, 2009 12:27 PM
As you read his comments...so many garbled and groping, how can one not assume that is how he actually thinks, and eventually, how he acts. He is sorry WMDs were not found in Iraq! So tell me, how did your vote for Bush turn out for you?
Posted by: Richard | January 12, 2009 12:29 PM
Wait....He's still in office? Gee...didnt know - thru most of the financial crisis - you rarely heard from him. I assumed he stopped his presidency months ago.
Posted by: Christina Baldassarra | January 12, 2009 12:31 PM
Don't worry...in due time, you will be thinking the same about the next President as well. Gotta love the media...build them up just to tear them down.
Posted by: Annie | January 12, 2009 12:35 PM
"The 43rd president, who will leave office with Obama's inauguration eight days from today and has endured years of criticism from the media,"
From the so-called "mainstream" media? When did this criticism occur? At least for the first 6 years of King George II's reign I didn't see that. Most of the MSM was too busy sucking up and bending over. Maybe if they had been more focused on *journalism* and asked the hard questions earlier we wouldn't be in the mess we are in.
Posted by: Karl_in_Chicago | January 12, 2009 12:49 PM
He says... "I'll wake up in Crawford on Wednesday morning... "
Not that's change we can believe in, Inky!
Posted by: Flo | January 12, 2009 12:55 PM
Will be very interesting to hear all you Bush bashers trying to defend Obama when he takes us down the drain.
Posted by: George | January 12, 2009 1:05 PM
God Bless George W. Bush he has kept you save to voice your opinion.
History will reward the Bush era.
Posted by: William O'Connell | January 12, 2009 1:14 PM
The writer of this column, Mark Silva, is a left-leaning joke.
I listened to that PC, and the tone was not on mistakes at all. This is just what a lefty sees in his words.
History, as many experts agree, is likely to cast Mr. Bush in the light of a war President who bucked his party for the greater good--irregardless of what i costs his party.
We must keep in mind that, longterm, he will not be judged by hysterical left wingers who've spent the last eight years in a prolonged , hate-filled, meltdown.
Posted by: Mike | January 12, 2009 1:17 PM
Will be very interesting to hear all you Bush bashers trying to defend Obama when he takes us down the drain. Posted by George
George, we're already in the tank! The only way out is up and I believe Obama will bring this country back. But not without the help from all of us. We all need to stop pointing fingers and do what will be needed to lift this county back up.
Posted by: Margie | January 12, 2009 1:25 PM
The legacy of the Bush presidency will be judged by history. If there is peace in the middle east at any point, it will be traced back to his controversial decision to intervene. Wishing Bush all the best in the future, and wishing Obama luck in the here and now!
Posted by: Neal | January 12, 2009 1:25 PM
After listening to Bush this morning comparing himself to Abe Lincoln, I've decided that he is just as delusional as Blago!
Posted by: Viv | January 12, 2009 1:26 PM
I think we should all read the book:
CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC GANGSTER by John Perkins, then we will understand what the world is all about...I highly recommend it. Now everything Bush has ever done and said makes sense. I understand the matrix if you will. Read it!! THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE. And get us on the path to real evolution as a race, the human race
Posted by: Shaula Vega | January 12, 2009 1:27 PM
Klieg Lights Obama
watch video
Posted by: Suey | January 12, 2009 1:32 PM
It's sad to see Republicans blaming Bill Clinton for Bin Laden. Bush was in office for nine months and did nothing about Bin Laden. Now he's spent seven years and still done nothing about Bin Laden. So why are Republicans stlll whining about Clinton? Your man Bush was an utter and complete failure.
Posted by: neil barnes | January 12, 2009 1:34 PM
OK Bushies:
I offer a figurative dollar for every single, documented instance in the 2000 campaign when our hero, George W., mentioned Bin Laden in any way, shape or form. It's very cute for you to talk about Clinton missing OBL, but the truth is Bush never said anything about it when he was running, and her certainly did nothing about it once he was in office.
Parenthetically, note this: September 11 happened nine months (including a one-month vacation) into Bush's term. Having now watched Obama launch into his job pretty much the day after he got elected, do you suppose it might be fair to suggest that if anyone was responsible to prepare for 9/11, it was the guy who ran the place for almost a year?
Posted by: a blinkin | January 12, 2009 1:35 PM
Bush is right in saying history will be on his side. Just think of what young people today think of Richard Nixon, arguably the worst president until Bush. Ask them a question about Nixon's Watergate scandal, and they'll say, "Who's Richard Nixon."
Posted by: ss | January 12, 2009 1:37 PM
After following politics for a while, it all starts to seem like it's ALL bullshit. It's all just a frickin show they put on cause it probably is.
Posted by: Bill | January 12, 2009 1:42 PM
Goodbye Mr. President. You will be sorely missed over the next 4 years.
Posted by: CSM | January 12, 2009 1:48 PM
Thank god you're outta here, Georgie!!
Posted by: South Elgin | January 12, 2009 1:56 PM
Aaaah, the sweet sounds of still blaming Clinton 8 yrs later,,,, the republicans have lost 14 Senate seats, 54 House seats, 7 Governorships - - all Clinton's fault.
The failed logic of the right. And they wonder how they got here.
Posted by: gus | January 12, 2009 2:18 PM
ditto Tony
Posted by: dianne | January 12, 2009 2:24 PM
Besides Bush taking all the heat for the failures of Jimma Carter(D) and B.J. Clinton(D) for their failure to confront terrorism let's add the failures of Ray Nagin(D) and Kathleen Blanco(D). (If)-now that's a big (If)-those two idiots would have demanded an evacuation, 30,000 people wouldn't of have to been saved off roof tops.
Let's see...New Orleans is six feet under sea level and there's a cat 4 hurricane headed right at us... let's blame it on Bush if we get flooded...yea, let's do that.
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | January 12, 2009 2:42 PM
It was good to hear him admit to mistakes. I appreciate the fact we haven't been hit since he took office. And take that into consideration as well. He walked into the "unknown". Bush was not the most "polished" Presidents, but there are many before him that mistakes. LBJ was a monster in office and in his personal life. He led us to war & civil war. And Nixon was a power hungry crook. But in both there was some good. Nixon took on China and made progress with the cold war. LBJ's contributions were Medicare/Medicaide to name a few social programs.
It works on both sides. Stand together people, regardless and we will be United.
Posted by: Kay | January 12, 2009 2:56 PM
William--Why didn't Bush and Cheney keep us safe on 9/11? They were told by their (our) own Intelligence people that there was a distinct chance of being hit by terrorists soon with our own planes.
Posted by: Vivian | January 12, 2009 3:14 PM
Bush was NOT the worst ever!! Clinton was. He did NOTHING in office. It basically was vacant for 8 years he was in it. OH and you unsupporters of Bush - You say he was the WORST ever?! I am SURE... that when it came to Bush sending off two stimulus checks you were not cursing him were you? Oh no.. you went right to the bank and cashed in. Did Clinton ever give you those?...NO! So stop your complaining and live on. If you believe Bush is a bad president then I have one word for you and how you live your life........../FAIL
Posted by: Whatever | January 12, 2009 3:19 PM
Mr. President:
Thanks for rebuilding the infrastructure of our intelligence agencies, and thanks for 7 years of security.
Posted by: Mark | January 12, 2009 12:08 PM
Hey Mark, on whose watch did the September 11 attacks happen? You think that just because we haven't been attacked at home since then should somehow make up for Bush letting the attacks happen in the first place? Please.
Posted by: Paul | January 12, 2009 3:21 PM
Well all you President Bush haters can put a cork in it now. Your constant knocking and belittling has been a source of divisiveness. I know that the Republican bloggers will not be nearly as ugly as you have been. And I too thank him for keeping American safe. I only have one question Mr. President why in heavens name why didn't you show more of that fire when dealing with the likes of Pelosi, Reid,Dodd, and Frank.
Posted by: Paul | January 12, 2009 3:31 PM
I find these comments interesting.
Obama won the Presidential election with well over 50% of the vote. That means he was supported by both Democrats and most Independents.
He now enjoys 80% approval for his decisions so far. That means he now has GAINED the support of Democrats, more Independents, and now the moderate Republicans.
How long can the Loyal Bushies keep it up the fight for this little man?
No problem that the deadliest attack on US soil in US history happened on his watch.
(Clinton's fault)
Never mind that Bush once promise to get Osama Bin Laden dead or alive, but after eight years, he's still out there planning attacks.
(somehow Clinton's fault)
No matter that "mission Accomplished" wasn't accomplished and Bush is leaving with the mission still not accomplished.
(Clinton's fault?)
Big deal that he had five days to figure out what to do about a Cat 5 hurricane hitting the US; he had a fundraiser to San Diego to attend, doncha know. (Clinton's fault? Hillary's?)
And what would HE, after eight years of telling us things were swell, have to do with the total collapse of our economy -- the worst since The Great Depression?
CLINTON's FAULT!
It is truly amazing that he still has a few Americans who still believe every word he says.
It must be so lonely to be a Loyal Bushie. While their only HOPE is that Barack Obama fails, over 80% of Americans are UNITED, and we have HOPE that America can recover if all of us work together.
George W. Bush =
The Worst President EVER.
Good bye and GOOD RIDDANCE.
Posted by: Jan | January 12, 2009 3:34 PM
It does not even pass the laugh test to call Clinton the worst president ever, unless you equate peace and prosperity with failure.
As for Jimmy Carter, two words take him out of the running for worst: Camp David. Carter negotiated a peace agreement between Eqypt and Israel that stands strong today, 30 years later. That alone puts him head and shoulders over George W. Bush, who has accomplished literally nothing.
Posted by: a blinkin | January 12, 2009 4:37 PM
"I'll wake up in Crawford on Wednesday morning... I expect I'll make Laura coffee.''
Lucky you-- can't say the same about the 4,000+ dead American soldiers, and the countless dead Iraqis-- all of whom DIED FOR YOUR VANITY! Yep, life sure is good!
Posted by: Boy George | January 12, 2009 5:13 PM
Time to destroy files and email records.
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport ✌ | January 12, 2009 5:21 PM
Will be very interesting to hear all you Bush bashers trying to defend Obama when he takes us down the drain.
Posted by: George | January 12, 2009 1:05 PM
If Obama isn't able to be an improvement over Bush, he'll deserve whatever abuse he gets. NOW -- if he DOES prove better than Bush, will we EVER hear words of praise coming from your big ole partisan mush? Or will it just be "Obama Hate Syndrome?"
Posted by: Op109 | January 12, 2009 5:33 PM
I watched the tail end of his speech this morning before heading out to work. He stuttered at every other line and seemingly "ignored" some questions.
He had the opportunity to be so much more after September 11th. Instead, he leaves the country more divided and our reputation in the international community shattered.
Posted by: Karen | January 12, 2009 7:20 PM
Children, children. Hush. As a democrat myself, I must agree that Mr. Bush, hasn't done quite an admirable job, but he has a good sense of humor and doesn't take himself too seriously, thank god. So lay off a bit, and just thank god silently that these next few years will be bliss, shall we? As for all of you who are talking as if Bushie's announcment was not noble, please. It was very noble of him to TRY to make things better. So, if you are so happy about are new president, cut the retarded judgmental crap and get back to the changed reality. Have a pleasent evening,
Blair
Posted by: Blair | January 12, 2009 7:40 PM
Please. I would like to know what any of you Bush bashers would've done after seeing September 11th happen.
Is it so hard to see that Bushs presidency was not the easiest presidency to manage? He was thrown many curveballs during his administration.
As for hurricane Katrina. Its not the Presidents job to oversee a states potential natural disaster, its that states government. So if you want to place blame put it on those pathetic losers who decided it was a good idea to have a voluntary evacuation, and not prepare more themselves for the worst case scenario. How many times did they call the Red Cross, or prepare supplys for the upcoming disaster. If the state could'nt get it done, and they best know the situation then who could?
Everyone blames all of our nations problems on Bush and its not right or fair. Brokerages , and financial institutions are one of the biggest reasons for this recession. There shady business practices have driven us into the ground.
Bushs presidency was not the greatest but was it really the worst?
He had made hard decisions. Decisions he thought were right. Decisions that were not always popular. Is that not what a leader is supposed to do?
If someone purposely drove a car into your house and killed your family, would you not want them to be punished to the highest extent of the law?
Posted by: Jmill | January 12, 2009 8:04 PM
George W. Bush.
Good to the last drop...
And if last drop I mean sound bite yeah he is.
Good for a laugh. To laugh at the court jester...
Chaney's and his dad's puppet.
It is funny Channey is named Richard.
Cos he sure was a DICK... GET IT LOL
What a joke of a president.
He probly is the anti christ but too dumb to know it.
GOOD PHUCKING BYE!!!!
Posted by: ED | January 12, 2009 9:12 PM
If you miss the bad logic and poor vocabulary, go to any ninth grade English class.
I will say this much for President George W. Bush..he actually governed like a Texan (despite the fact that he's really from Connecticut).
He did everything big. His lapses of judgment were so huge that they will have a lasting effect on how America is viewed in the world for several decades.
His errors in just about everything were so colossal -- so GIGANTIC -- that they will have a lasting negative effect that even FIVE subsequent presidential administrations cannot right.
All in the name of "keeping America safe".
Bull. Bye-bye, George. I'd love to hang out with you at a barbecue. Youre probably a really nice guy. But as a chief executive, you're a bust. A big one.
Posted by: cdub | January 12, 2009 9:29 PM
1,800 dead in the Greater New Orleans region during the Katrina hurricane and Bush-Cheney Inc. catastrophic
debacle. And, Bush...obviously "is having fun", and will forever live
comfortably with that!?!
Posted by: ABE | January 13, 2009 12:33 AM
Geez, it seems he still doesn't see how badly he performed. I mean, granted, he had ridiculous odds to overcome during his two terms. But he could have done better. It's sort of like, yeah, I'm not sure how well I would've handled Al Qaeda, either, but I wouldn't blindly throw soldier at them until I got the results I wanted.
It's sort of like, you need brain surgery done, and your choice of doctors isn't ideal. But wouldn't you rather have a heart surgeon instead of a dentist? This is sort of a convoluted analogy, but the patient in this case is the U.S. and Bush is the dentist.
Posted by: Michael | January 13, 2009 12:39 AM
President Bush's stumbling apologia for his 8 years in office was truly embarrassing and painful to watch.
Regardless of what one thinks of the man, his inarticulate and confused explanations for his 8 years in office has to evoke some degree of pity. This is a man so obviously out of his depth and competence that it's almost criminal to criticize him.
Elevated to office through a miscarriage of justice, courtesy of a radically politicized Supreme Court, he was thrust into a milieu he was not equipped to deal with. The results should have been predictable.
In a less tumultuous time Mr. Bush probably would done less damage. As it turned out, his self-delusions and incompetence combined to bring America to its nadir. Here's hoping we don't see his like again.
Posted by: Sam Thornton | January 13, 2009 2:38 AM
If someone purposely drove a car into your house and killed your family, would you not want them to be punished to the highest extent of the law?
Posted by: Jmill | January 12, 2009 8:04 PM
Yes, of course. That's why George W. Bush should be turned over to the International Criminal Court to be tried for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths caused by the War that Bush recklessly and and negligently launched because of non-existant WMDs. The Iraqi people have as much right to justice for their dead as the US.
Posted by: Fair | January 13, 2009 10:33 AM
Yo, Dawgs! Li'l Georgie got me straight trippin'!
Posted by: Luscious Lars Anderson | January 13, 2009 2:18 PM