Bush The Incorrigible

During his last press conference as a president, George W. Bush was true to himself. He reiterated the words he had said when he was on his China tour: history will judge his actions. Although he forced a few regrets out of his mouth, Bush was nevertheless proud of what he undertook for his nation, suggesting to his successor, Barack Obama, who will be inaugurated on January 20, to do the same.

“And, anyway, I think historians will look back and they’ll be able to have a better look at mistakes, after some time has passed. I — one of Jake’s questions — there is no such thing as short-term history.” declared George W. Bush at his last press conference as U.S. president in office on Monday. This sentence actually means that history will be able to judge him better than the present political journalists do.

Even though he admitted he had a few regrets, especially in terms of the way he dealt with the hurricane Katrina catastrophe, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, the 43rd American president particularly congratulated himself on always having thought of the nation as a priority. “America First” could have been prompted to him by the unfortunate candidate to the White House, John McCain, who used these precise words as the slogan of his campaign. He even advised his Democratic successor Barack Obama to observe the same line of conduct. “I don’t see how you can live with yourself. I don’t see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics, to — to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country.”

“This Didn’t Affect Our Reputation”

George Bush took his time explaining all the reasons that guided his actions during the eight years he spent at the White House, specifically on a diplomatic level, his definition of the “Axis of Evil” and the fight against international terrorism. By the way, this very last matter will be, according to Bush, Barack Obama’s biggest challenge. “I wish I could report that’s not the case, but there’s still an enemy out there that would like to inflict damage on America — Americans. And that will be the major threat,” George W. Bush considered. As for his much laughed at expression, “Axis of Evil”, often referred to as “cowboy diplomacy,” it was brought up for discussion when the American president reiterated his warnings against Iran and North Korea: “North Korea is still dangerous.” George W. Bush also awarded a pass mark to his administration for safety improvements in Iraq, which he believes is the result of the American military reinforcement decided in 2007. “Now the question is, in the long run, will this democracy survive? And that’s going to be the challenge for future presidents,” George W. Bush clearly aimed at his successor, who will take oath on the Bible on January 20th.

Was this last speech a concert of praises to be heard only by his own presidential ears? Well, George W. Bush did concede to a few approximations as far as mistakes are concerned. Katrina? “Could I have done something differently, like land Air Force One either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge?” Well, no, he couldn’t have because his own protection over there would have changed the police force’s primary mission, which was to try and control the crisis. No weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? “A significant disappointment,” according to Bush. Not to mention the bad treatment the Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail had to endure from the American soldiers, considered as “a huge disappointment.” Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, the display of a “Mission Accomplished” banner on an aircraft carrier in 2003, two months after Iraq’s invasion? “Things didn’t go according to plan, let’s put it that way,” admitted George W. Bush, before he added “this didn’t affect our reputation.” Honor is safe. The American president will say goodbye on Thursday evening to his compatriots during a short televised speech, the White House’s spokesperson announced.

So long, cowboy…