President Bush just held the final presser of his eight years in office. He offered a guarded retrospective of his presidency, defending his economic policies and the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, while acknowledging he was "disappointed" that no weapons of mass destruction ever turned up in Iraq.
"Clearly putting 'mission accomplished' on an aircraft carrier was a mistake" he said. "It sent the wrong message. Obviously some of my rhetoric has been a mistake."
He said he wished Obama "all the very best", mused on his critics at home and abroad, advised the Republican party to present a more inclusive image, and thanked the press corps with which he has spent eight years sparring.
He also threw out a new Bushism, speaking on history's judgment of his invasion of Iraq:
"There is no such thing as short term history"
...and poked fun at his sometimes-garbled use of the language. On his relationship with the press he said:
Through it all, I have respected you, sometimes I didn't like the stories that your wrote or reported on, sometimes you misunderestimated me, but always our relationship, I have felt, has been professional and I appreciate it.
He said that the morning of Wednesday, January 21, he would wake up at his new home in Dallas, make coffee for Laura Bush and serve it to her. He does not anticipate taking long beach vacations, wearing straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt, particularly, he said, since he quit drinking.
Read more on Bush's press conference here.
What would you, Guardian America readers, want to see Bush do in his retirement? Keep it family friendly, please.
