Bush unrepentant despite regrets
George Bush: "I'm getting old"
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Monday, 12, Jan 2009 03:36
George Bush has said the "loud voices" criticising him did not affect his decision-making in his final press conference as president of the United States.
With just over a week left of his eight years in power, Mr Bush warned his successor Barack Obama to prepare himself for facing people who are "real critical and harsh".
"He's going to have to do what he thinks is right. If you don't I don't see how he can live with himself," he said.
Mr Bush suffered opinion polls which were among the lowest for an incumbent president in modern history and was even asked about the hostile reaction he provoked by one journalist.
He compared the "harsh discourse" he experienced to that suffered by Abraham Lincoln but insisted most people he encountered were neither "angry" nor "hostile".
Mr Bush fiercely defended his record in office, saying he was "comfortable" with his achievements.
But he admitted regretting his failure to get free trade agreements through Congress, said he should have pushed for immigration reform after his 2004 victory and described not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a "significant disappointment".
"Historians will look back and they'll be able to have a better look at mistakes. There is no such thing as short-term history. I don't think you can get the whole breadth of an administration until time has passed," he added.
Mr Bush wished his successor well and said he considered himself fortunate to have a "front-row seat" at the inauguration.
"I wish him all the very best. I've found him to be a very smart and engaging person."
The 43rd president said the 44th was a "better speechmaker than me" before struggling to describe how Mr Obama will feel when he enters the Oval Office.
"He's going to feel it," he continued.
"There'll be a moment when he feels it. I don't feel isolated and I don't think he will. One of the reasons… is because he's got a fabulous family. He's a 45-second commute away from a great wife and two little girls who love him dearly."
The outgoing president appeared relaxed throughout and, in relaxed mood, said he had respected the White House press corps throughout.
But he added, referencing one of his best-know 'Bushisms': "Sometimes you misunderestimated me."