Dubya Says Goodbye

Dubya gave his final press conference this morning.

In a nostalgic farewell news conference, Bush recalled the start of his own presidency, called Obama “a smart, engaging person” and said he wishes his successor all the best. As for his own presidency, Bush defended his decisions on the Iraq war, the issue that will define his presidency like no other. There have been over 4,000 U.S. deaths since the invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003. He said that “not finding weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment.” The accusation that Saddam had and was pursuing weapons of mass destruction was Bush’s main initial justification for going to war.

Bush admitted another miscalculation: Eager to report quick progress after U.S. troops ousted Saddam Hussein, Bush five years ago made a victory speech in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner, a sign that turned out to be wildly optimistic. “In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed,” he declared triumphantly May 1, 2003, from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of San Diego. “Clearly putting `Mission Accomplished’ on an aircraft carrier was a mistake,” he said in Monday’s news conference.

Bush closed with a message for Republicans to become more inclusive.

President Bush said “the problem with the outcome of the initial round” of the immigration debate “was that some people said, ‘well, Republicans don’t like immigrants.’ Now that may be fair or unfair, but that’s what, that’s the image that came out.”