The Best Bushisms: The highlights of President George W Bush
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- ITN
The Best Bushisms: The highlights of President George W Bush
George W Bush has defended his controversial presidency in a farewell address. Five days before handing over the presidency to Barack Obama, Mr Bush attempted to define a White House record that some historians are already ranking among the worst ever. He will leave Mr Obama with unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bitter conflict in Gaza and an economy deep in recession. Mr Bush said: "Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. And there are things I would do differently if given the chance." "Yet I've always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. "You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions." On the world financial crisis, Mr Bush insisted: "Facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy. The toll would be far worse if we had not acted." He warned that the gravest challenge facing the incoming president remained the threat of another terrorist attack like the al-Qaeda strikes on September 11, 2001. The president acknowledged that some of his actions in response to 9/11 had been controversial but he stood by them, saying: "There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil." He added: "Our enemies are patient, and determined to strike again. Good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise." Farewell speeches are a ritual for departing US leaders, but the stakes are especially high for Mr Bush, who will step down with one of the lowest public approval ratings of any president in modern times - in the mid-20 per cent range. In a final ceremony at the State Department, Bush defended his foreign policy - from the unpopular war in Iraq to nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea, saying: "We have made the world freer."
ITN | January 16, 2009
