I watched the entire raw tape of George Bush's final informal press conference, not by choice, but because I had to, for a retrospective I was writing. And I observed again that, love him or hate him, W possesses almost imperviable self-assurance and an extraordinarily tough constitution; exceedingly rare qualities in politicians today. These qualities both served and bedeviled the nation and his administration.
I also observed a truly happy and satisfied man.
When asked by a reporter about his 8-year role as scapegoat for most of the world's problems---the Left hated Bush before 9/11 or Iraq--one could see that Bush was genuinely unmoved. He simply didn't care.
Bush was the polar opposite of the president before him, a man who wanted to be loved by everyone, and who ran the White House as a perpetual re-election campaign. And I am convinced that America was safer because a man like Bush was President, even with all of the missteps. And there were many. But when it came America's security, Bush was willing to make the tough decisions, and without first wetting his finger and sticking it into the wind.
I was not a fan of many of Bush's policies and in fact was dismayed when he got the nomination in 2000. He diluted the conservative brand with big government schemes like Medicare and TARP. He divided the conservative movement with a disastrous immigration reform plan. And he was a weak party standard bearer.
Too often he hired poorly and was too loyal to cabinet members who should have been dismissed. Bush remained loyal to a staff who undermined his standing through incompetence.
But it's clear that W is leaving the White House genuinely satisfied that he tried his best. He served during one of the most turbulent times in American history, and finished with one of the lowest approval ratings. Yet he is clearly a man at peace with himself. And the Bush haters can't take that away from him.