POLITICO 44: For the first time, former President George W. Bush has said publicly that he approves of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s high-profile role in defending the past administration’s national security policies.
“I’m glad Cheney is out there,” Bush said Friday morning at a reunion breakfast that was the inaugural event for the Bush-Cheney Alumni Association.
The reception, held at a downtown Washington hotel, was closed to the press. Attendees supplied this account of the remarks.
Cheney originally had been scheduled to appear with Bush but did not come because he is recovering from a heart scare. Bush visited his former vice president in McLean on Thursday and said Cheney “is feeling well” and has “a fierce constitution.”
The former president started with a funny patter that several attendees related to stand-up. In announcing his book, he joshed: “This is going to come as quite a shock to people up here that I can write a book, much less read one.”
Turning serious, Bush said: “I don't want to be involved in politics, but I do in policy.” He talked about his own record, saying of his signature education reform: “No Child Left Behind was the most advanced civil rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act.”
Giving advice, he urged humility. “Don’t swagger. Sometimes I got carried away rallying the country," he said. "I think the swagger criticism was fair. A lot of others weren't. I hope I conveyed a sense that I was a lowly sinner who found redemption. I'm not better than anyone else. What makes me different from others is that I realized I needed help.”
“I’m religious — I confess,” he continued. “One of the challenges in life is: Maintaining religious piety is harder when the pressure is off than when it is on. But now there is still a dependency in a greater grace.”
Bush made it clear he plans to continue to keep a low profile: “I have no desire to see myself on television. I don't want to be a panel of formers instructing the currents on what to do. I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity. I didn't like it when a certain former president — and it wasn't 41 or 42 — made my life miserable.”
“I’m glad Cheney is out there,” Bush said Friday morning at a reunion breakfast that was the inaugural event for the Bush-Cheney Alumni Association.
The reception, held at a downtown Washington hotel, was closed to the press. Attendees supplied this account of the remarks.
Cheney originally had been scheduled to appear with Bush but did not come because he is recovering from a heart scare. Bush visited his former vice president in McLean on Thursday and said Cheney “is feeling well” and has “a fierce constitution.”
The former president started with a funny patter that several attendees related to stand-up. In announcing his book, he joshed: “This is going to come as quite a shock to people up here that I can write a book, much less read one.”
Turning serious, Bush said: “I don't want to be involved in politics, but I do in policy.” He talked about his own record, saying of his signature education reform: “No Child Left Behind was the most advanced civil rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act.”
Giving advice, he urged humility. “Don’t swagger. Sometimes I got carried away rallying the country," he said. "I think the swagger criticism was fair. A lot of others weren't. I hope I conveyed a sense that I was a lowly sinner who found redemption. I'm not better than anyone else. What makes me different from others is that I realized I needed help.”
“I’m religious — I confess,” he continued. “One of the challenges in life is: Maintaining religious piety is harder when the pressure is off than when it is on. But now there is still a dependency in a greater grace.”
Bush made it clear he plans to continue to keep a low profile: “I have no desire to see myself on television. I don't want to be a panel of formers instructing the currents on what to do. I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity. I didn't like it when a certain former president — and it wasn't 41 or 42 — made my life miserable.”
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