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A President Looks Back At Life In Bubbletown

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MARSHA MERCER Media General News Service

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 18, 2009

WASHINGTON - As his presidency drew to a close, George W. Bush revealed that life in the White House hasn't been bad, not bad at all.

It was, in fact, "joyous" every day, he said, as inconceivable as that seems in an eight-year period that included 9/11, war on two fronts, Hurricane Katrina, an economy skidding into a ravine and presidential disapproval ratings persistently in the dumps.

"I tell people that, you know, some days happy, some days not so happy, every day has been joyous," Bush said at his final presidential news conference.

The Q&A provided an extraordinary glimpse into the bubble that surrounds modern presidents, and gives Bush's successor an object lesson in what to avoid.

If President-elect Barack Obama didn't catch the event, I hope some of his aides or Michelle Obama did. It showed the real effects of a president who grew out of touch with his country - and didn't have a clue it happened.

Asked why he has drawn such passionate criticism and animosity, Bush replied, "You know, most people I see, you know, when I'm moving around the country, for example, they're not angry. And they're not hostile people."

Of course not. The White House filled most audiences with friendlies.

"And so, I view those who get angry and yell and say bad things ... it's just a very few people in the country. I don't know why they get angry. I don't know why they get hostile," he said.

Just another mystery of life, evidently, along with why some critics say the country has lost stature on his watch.

About the United States' standing in the world, he said, "I strongly disagree with the assessment that our moral standing has been damaged."

Bush has lived in Bubbledom for so long that he can't even conceive that he was in a bubble. He spent his final week as president giving his side of events of the last eight years, as though people were still listening, citing his accomplishments and, to his credit, graciously wishing Obama well.

To be sure, nobody wants the president to be wracked with self-doubt or reduced to seeking advice from White House paintings, but we do want presidents who are healthy realists, seeing the world as it is, being willing to change course when necessary.

Unlike a lot of other people, Bush was even gracious to the reporters covering the White House. He said it had been an honor working with them. OK, surely he was stretching it there.

He acknowledged a few mistakes - like taking up Social Security instead of immigration reform right after the 2004 elections. Most people are glad he wasn't able to pass his overhaul of Social Security, which would imperil that institution along with our 401(k)s.

But the things he termed "disappointments" were even more telling of the distance he places between himself and what went wrong - the Abu Ghraib debacle and Iraq's not having weapons of mass destruction after all.

"I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were - things that didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way," he said.

Bush dismissed the phrase "the burdens of the office" as "overstated" and brushed aside any notion of the presidency as the "loneliest office in the world."

"No, not for me ... I had a fabulous team around me of highly dedicated, smart, capable people, and we had fun ..."

Just a bunch of great guys and gals having a blast running the country. Who knew?

It's not entirely Bush's fault that he let the veil fall over his eyes. The care of the president depends to a large extent on the people who feed him information and the spin machine they operate.

"I have never felt isolated," Bush insisted, "and I don't think (Obama) will. One reason he won't feel isolated is because he's got a fabulous family and he cares a lot about his family. That's evident from my discussions with him. He'll be a 45-second commute away from a great wife and two little girls that love him dearly."

That's sweet, but Obama also will need to fight the bubble.

What do you think? Comment at mgwashington.com or e-mail mmercer@mediageneral.com.

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