VOA News - Bush Reflects as Nation Prepares to Welcome Obama

Bush Reflects as Nation Prepares to Welcome Obama
By Jim MaloneWashington16 January 2009
Presidential transitions always present the opportunity to reflect on the past and look toward the future, often at the same time. That is the case thisweek in Washington as preparations continue for Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president, and the end of President GeorgeW. Bush's eight years in office.
President George W. Bush delivers his farewell address to the nation, from the East Room of the White House, 15 Jan. 2009
President George W. Bush delivers his farewell address to the nation, from the East Room of the White House, 15 Jan. 2009George W. Bush sounded wistful as he gave his farewell television address to the American people.
Mr. Bush highlighted his efforts to keep the nation safe from terrorism following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
But in the wake of his decision to go to war in Iraq and his administration's handling of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mr. Bush acknowledgedthat some of his actions had divided the country.
"I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right," he said. "You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you canagree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
During his presidency, Mr. Bush never liked questions about his place in history. But as the 43rd U.S. president prepares to give way to the 44th, he hasspoken about his disappointments, his accomplishments and his critics.
"I never really spent that much time, frankly, worrying about the loud voices," he said. "I of course hear them. But they did not affect my policy, nordid it affect how I made decisions."
And as he prepares to leave the White House, Mr. Bush has some advice for the man who is preparing to succeed him.
"President-elect Obama will find this too. He'll get in the Oval Office and there will be a lot of people that are real critical and harsh," he said. "Andhe'll be disappointed at times by the tone of the rhetoric. And he's going to have to do what he thinks is right."
As Mr. Bush reflects on his eight years in office, Barack Obama is squarely focused on the future.
President-elect Barack Obama, right, talks with the Washington Post editorial board in Washington, DC, 15 Jan. 2009
President-elect Barack Obama, right, talks with the Washington Post editorial board in Washington, DC, 15 Jan. 2009The incoming president faces no shortage of difficult challenges, from the economy, which is now in recession and loosing millions of jobs, to the militaryconflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and now the Middle East.
Mr. Obama told ABC's This Week program he has been looking at past inaugural addresses by past presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt ashe prepares to speak to Americans for the first time as president after his inauguration on January 20.
"The main task for me in an inauguration speech, and I think this is true for my presidency generally, is to try capture as best I can the moment that weare in," he said. "Then to project confidence that if we take the right measures that we can once again be that beacon for the world."
Mr. Obama's inauguration carries special significance since he will become the first African American president.
Political experts see Mr. Obama's election as an important new marker in the racial divide that has shaped the United States since the early days of theRepublic.
A view of the West Front of the Capitol building in Washington, 15 Jan. 2009, where President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn-in on 20 Jan.
A view of the West Front of the Capitol building in Washington, 15 Jan. 2009, where President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn-in on 20 Jan."I think this is an incredible moment in history," said Stephen Hess, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "We have other milestones,obviously. John Kennedy was the first Catholic president, and that was very important to the country. But we didn't fight a civil war over religion, wefought it over race."
Mr. Obama takes office at a time when public opinion polls show that Americans have a great appetite for change after eight years of the Bush administration.
That desire for change was a key factor in Mr. Obama's election victory, and experts believe it will remain a driving force in the early months of his administration.
"Ninety percent of Americans today think their country is on the wrong track," said Allan Lichtman, a presidential scholar at American University in Washington."We have a sour economy. We have wars still raging abroad. America's standing around the world has been at a low ebb during the administration of GeorgeW. Bush. So, Americans are hungry for change, and if anything, Barack Obama has promised a new beginning, real change in America."
Public opinion polls show Americans are eager to welcome the new president to office and generally approve of his handling of the presidential transition.
But the public also has high expectations of Mr. Obama, particularly on the economy, and it remains an open question as to how patient the public will beas the new administration tries to reverse the economic downturn.
An Associated Press-Gfk poll found that 71 percent believe the economy will improve during the first year of Mr. Obama's presidency, and that 65 percentof those polled believe he will be either an above-average or outstanding president by the time he leaves office.