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SPEAKERS: PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH

BARBARA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT BUSH

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC ANCHOR

[*] GIBSON: Fifty days from today, President Bush will leave office. And in these final days, he’s reflecting on his eight years in the White House, leading a nation at war and in economic turmoil. Much has been made of his historically low approval ratings. But Mr. Bush tells us he’s leaving office with his head held high. We had a chance to talk with the president aboard Marine One, his helicopter, and at Camp David as he headed to his Thanksgiving celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GIBSON (voice over): We met the Bushes in the Diplomatic Room of the White House...

G. BUSH: Charlie, welcome.

GIBSON (on camera): Mr. President.

(voice-over): ... prior to flying up to Camp David on the president’s helicopter, Marine One.

G. BUSH: I’m glad to give you a ride on the magic carpet. Frankly, it’s one of the great luxuries of the presidency.

GIBSON: By chopper, Camp David, high in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, is half an hour. Nice ride. We talked along the way about the Obama family visit to the White House and the fact that the president-elect’s family found it less foreboding, homier actually, than they’d expected. And the president thought it would be a good place for the Obama girls to grow up.

G. BUSH: The White House is really neat, obviously. And there’s a lot of beautiful antique furniture. If Laura said, get your feet off the Jefferson table, your coffee mug off the Grant table, but they will fill that house with love.

GIBSON: The president is going to be doing a series of what the White House calls exit interviews over the next few weeks. Ours was the first. And we started with the economy.

(on camera): Do you feel in any way responsible for what’s happening?

G. BUSH: You know, I’m the president during this period of time. But I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over, you know, a decade or so before I arrived as president, during I arrived as president. I’m sorry it’s happening, of course. Obviously I don’t like the idea of people losing jobs or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people have got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we’re in. And if we need to be in more, we will.

GIBSON: But was there an uh-oh moment, and I could probably use stronger language than that...

G. BUSH: Yes. GIBSON: ... when you thought, “This really could be bad”?

G. BUSH: Well, when you have secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Fed say, “If we don’t act boldly, we could be in a depression greater than the Great Depression,” that’s an uh-oh moment.

But the question is, is it worth it to save the system, to safeguard the system. And I came to the conclusion, along with other smart people, that it is.

GIBSON: I found you to be an excellent political analyst and commentator.

G. BUSH: Why, I try not to.

GIBSON: What did you think of the campaign?

G. BUSH: I thought my candidate for president, John McCain , had a tough head wind for two reasons. One, rarely do the American people give a political party three terms. That in itself was difficult for him. Obviously, the economic situation made it awfully difficult for John McCain to get a message out. And I felt that Barack Obama ran a very disciplined campaign.

GIBSON: Given the conditions and the economy, is there any way John McCain could have won?

G. BUSH: It’s hard to see it in retrospect. I think the interesting thing about the way people analyze campaigns is, they always look at the negative side. The positive side is, from Barack Obama ’s perspective is, he had a really good campaign. I mean this guy, I’m told, raised $150 million in one month. That meant a lot of people were for him for president.

GIBSON: Was the election in any way a repudiation of the Bush administration?

G. BUSH: I think it was a repudiation of Republicans. And, you know, I’m sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as president.

GIBSON: Both candidates wound up criticizing you a lot.

G. BUSH: Yes, well, that’s what happens when you’re the incumbent and during a tough economic time. But...

GIBSON: Hurt?

G. BUSH: No, not really. I mean, I’ve been around politics a long time. Remember, I was the guy in 2000 who campaigned for change. I campaigned for change when I ran for governor of Texas. The only time I really didn’t campaign for change is when I was running for re- election. GIBSON: Let’s talk a little bit about eight years as being president. What were you most unprepared for?

G. BUSH: Well, I think I was unprepared for war. In other words, I didn’t campaign and say, please vote for me, I’ll be able to handle an attack. In other words, I didn’t anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen.

GIBSON: What don’t the American people know about being president? What would surprise them the most?

G. BUSH: I think people look at the White House and say, oh, man, what a miserable experience it is to be president. You know, it’s a lot of noise, a lot of criticism, a lot of name calling, a lot of this, a lot of that. Some days we’re not so happy. Some days, happy. Every day has been pretty joyous, though.

GIBSON: That’s the second time I’ve heard you use the word joyful about the presidency. And that might take people by surprise. Even in really tough times?

G. BUSH: Oh, yes. I don’t want people to misconstrue. It’s not, I don’t feel joyful when somebody loses their life, nor do I feel joyful from somebody who loses a job. That concerns me. And, you know, a president ends up, you know, carrying a lot of people’s grief in his soul. But the idea of being able to serve a nation you love is -- has been joyful. In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad, but the spirits are up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIBSON: And when we come back, President Bush, his wife, and his daughter, on the next commander in chief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIBSON: Finally tonight, as we were leaving the White House for Camp David, I asked President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and their daughter, Barbara, about the historic nature of Barack Obama ’s election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

G. BUSH: It’s going to be an exciting time for America. I look at this, you know, as a -- I’m sorry our candidate lost. I was a strong supporter of Senator McCain. On the other hand, the election of Barack Obama is going to lift our spirits in many ways.

GIBSON (on camera): Did you ever think you’d see an African- American in your lifetime?

G. BUSH: No.

GIBSON: Did you ever think you’d see it in your lifetime?

L. BUSH: Probably not. I mean I’m not surprised in many ways, but I don’t know if I expected it.

G. BUSH: It’s hard to believe having grown up, you know, coming to age in the ‘60s.

GIBSON (voice-over): Also with us for the trip to Camp David, their daughter, Barbara Bush.

(on camera): Did you ever expect to see it in your lifetime?

B. BUSH: I did.

GIBSON: Did you?

B. BUSH: Yes. I’m really impressed. But I don’t think it’s surprising at all.

GIBSON (voice-over): Such is the difference in generations. But then the president had the last word.

G. BUSH: She really never assumed her father would be president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIBSON: That was the surprise for her.

END

.ETX

Dec 02, 2008 7:40 ET .EOF

Source: CQ Transcriptions

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