December 1. 2008

George W. Bush

George W. Bush has been spilling his guts during his last days in office, apologizing for the mess he turned America into during his presidency.

He has now officially apologized for the economic crisis and how badly the war turned out. It will be small consolation to many in the world, but it is an apology.

Remnants of the mess include the decimated DOW, which erased all its gains from last week, plunging 680 points, testifying to the nation’s economic instability.

Additional bad news today confirmed what many people knew, though Bush denied and ignored it - the country has been in a recession since December 2007.

Bush maintains, "I did not compromise my principles" – and he’s right, as technically he can't compromise what he does not have.

Bush: `I'm sorry' the economic crisis is occurring

WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush expressed remorse that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts and said he'll back more government intervention if needed to ease the recession.

"I'm sorry it's happening, of course," Bush said in a wide-ranging interview with ABC's "World News," which was airing Monday. "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 got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will."

The U.S. economy fell into a recession in December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research reported on Monday. Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009 and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

On the war in Iraq, Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was the "intelligence failure" regarding the extent of the Saddam Hussein threat to the United States. With the support of Congress, Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003—a decision largely justified on grounds—later proved false—that Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction.

"A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein," he said. "That's not a do-over, but I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess."

Asked if he would have ordered the U.S.-led invasion if intelligence reports had accurately indicated that Saddam did not have the weapons, Bush replied: "You know, that's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate."

On the presidential election, Bush called Barack Obama's victory a "repudiation of Republicans."

"I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me," said Bush, who leaves office with low approval ratings. "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."

As he leaves office, Bush said he felt responsible for the economic downturn because it's occurring on his watch, but he added: "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 a decade or so" before he became president.

http://www.breitbart.com

Bush: 'I Did Not Compromise My Principles'

President George W. Bush Says He Will Leave Office With 'Head Held High'

Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as "biggest regret of all the presidency."

http://abcnews.go.com