George Bush’s “ultimate exit interview”
President George W. Bush | Getty Images
President George W. Bush was at times serious, funny and mocking in what has been billed as his last press conference as president. Read the Associated Press story here.
Among disappointments about his presidency, Bush said were not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner.
He said he has thought “long and hard” about his response to Hurricane Katrina, and said he does not regret not immediately visiting the areas devastated by the hurricane. He implied that the media would have second-guessed him if he had. He also said that criticism about a slow federal response was misdirected.
He defended his “strong” record, including his administration’s struggle with achieving peace in the Middle East and the surge of troops in Iraq.
He was a bit angry when a reporter suggested that America’s image had been tarnished. “It may be damaged amongst some of the elite,” he said, noting that most people still believe that America stands for freedom.
He would not answer a question about preemptive pardons.
In a very funny sequence, he mocked the idea that the presidency is a burden. “I believe the phrase ‘burdens of the office’ is overstated,” he said. “It’s kind of like, `Why me? Oh, the burdens, you know. Why did the financial collapse have to happen on my watch?’ It’s just pathetic, isn’t it, self-pity?”
The press conference lasted about 45 minutes. No shoes were thrown.
Did you watch or listen to the press conference? What did you think? Did he accurately represent his eight years in office? Did he forget any mistakes or accomplishments?
Jamie Riley is the P-D letters editor and gatekeeper of the letters blog. Before joining the editorial page in May 2005, she was a reporter and page designer. Jamie lives in University City with her husband, Charles, daughter, Elise, and the world's best Jack Russell terrier, Logan, better known as Stinky. 
Finally, the truth about the “Mission Accomplished” banner-straight from the horse’s mouth.
I didn’t listen, and I really don’t care. Few Republicans will miss President Bush. But his departure will leave create a terrible shortage of material for the Post-Dispatch editorial page.
Yeah, Nick, no kidding. I couldn’t be happier that there isn’t a single Republican in charge of anything now. What are the Dems going to be pissed off about now? And now that the PD got their man elected, they are going out of business. First Mink, and Horrigan is probably next. My only satisfaction was going to be watching them defend mr. no-experience no-nothing as he makes it up as he goes along. Talk about bailing after the ship has sunk.
I watched the entire press conference. We finally saw the real Bush. Boy did he seem happy to be getting out of there. Unfortunately once again he didn’t toot is own horn.
So far, only heard the part about the burden issue. But am I missing something concerning his statement about Hurricane Katrina? How the hell would the press have second-guessed a president who immediately responded to a natural disaster?
A Centrist… It’s a sad person who wishes other people were unemployed.
I was very proud of the President. He finally stood up to the liberals in the press and defended himself. I write this respectfully to him, but if he had been doing that all along, his poll numbers would be much better.
I’ll be sad when he leaves. The new idiot will be a big time change for this country and send us somewhere we’ve never been…into a socialistic, babykilling utopia. Get ready for government run everything and the Freedom of Choice Act to be law.
Mike, it was hard to find, but occasionally C-Span would show an entire press conference with GB, who engaged them and was forceful in his speeches. The mainstream media lambasted him and only showed snippets of these press conferences. I could cut and paste numerous commentary from non-biased research companies who studied the press’ bias towards Bush, but facts generally elude liberals, who live in their own double standard world.
George Bush may not have done a good enough job in getting the message out. You can be assured that the new arrogant president will get his message out via every possible medium available…and will be given the forum to do it by ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, etc.
To you liberals, here is how I answer your whining about how bad Bush was:
-Hurricane Katrina’s victims were killed by Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco who failed to ask for federal help soon enough. Nagin failed to use school buses to get people out of town.
-Waterboarding-most reports say that waterboarding saved American lives. If it saved even one American life it was worth it.
-Wiretapping of terrorists or possible terrorists….if it saved American lives..it was worth it. I don’t think I was wiretapped…were you?
-We have lost respect from the world. REALLY? Whose respect and how did we keep it? I don’t remember the world thanking us for our response to the tsunami. I don’t remember the world thanking us for taking out the murderous Taliban in Afghanistan. I don’t remember the world thanking us for saving the millions of Africans with the amount of money the Bush Administration invested in HIV/AIDS/Malaria programs. We pushed the Israelis to give up Gaza. I don’t remember the arabs thanking us for helping push the Israelis to do this. Respect from the world? We lost it by saving Iraqi lives? We lost it by saving Afghani women from being shot in soccer stadiums? Give me a break.
-Bush was responsible for the economy. Chris Dodd and Barney Frank…google them. The democrats have run Congress for two years..and in that two years the economy tanked and gas prices went up.
-George Bush lied about WMDs. PROVE IT.
I can find fault in many of the things George Bush did but at the end of the day, I’m glad he was my President. My family and I are so very lucky that we have been safe these last 8 years. Now the worrying really begins.
What a wonderful lesson for future Presidents! Most of us have the memory of Jimmy Carter and Bubba Clinton as past Presidents, now to see an honest principled man addressing his time in office is a good lesson for everyone. THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT!!!
Hey loudmouth no-it-all EJR - can’t you even read? You are so filled with hate that you project it onto other bloggers. I am extremely saddened by the loss of jobs at the PD. Although I truly believe they are the cause of their own demise as most people usually are, I wish they were all going to still be there to defend their choice of H. I wanted to read to see their reactions to his presidency and apparently that satisfaction is going to be taken away from me. I regret the demise of the PD as I love reading it in the AM (I guess I am one of the last few subscribers) and seeing how much real news was left out as they filter their news to meet their agenda. It was kind of a way for me to jumpstart my heart in the AM.
SO now where was it you read that I was happy to see people lose their jobs?
I fail to read that anywhere.
The word disaterous comes to mind…Bush mentioned the word disappointemnt at least 12 times. The Mission Accomplished banner, Abu Ghraib, Katrina, WMDs, unemployment, national debt, bail-outs, Bin Laden, Iraq, Afganistan, budget deficits…..My God, you would have thought Al Gore or John Kerry gave the last press conference.
Makes you wonder what could of been.