Where Some See Mistakes, He Sees Disappointments

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"This is the ultimate exit interview," President Bush told the White House press corps yesterday as he faced it for a final time in the briefing room.

And the interviewee had come with well-rehearsed lines for any question his interviewers could devise.

The worst economy since Herbert Hoover? "Look, I inherited a recession," Bush replied. "This problem started before my presidency."

The government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina? "Don't tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed."

The badly executed Iraq occupation? "Hard things don't happen overnight."

The decline of American prestige? "I strongly disagree with the assessment that our moral standing has been damaged," Bush answered, proposing that the questioner "Go to Africa. . . . Go to India. . . . Go to China and ask."

By the time he finished, it was hard to imagine why only 23 percent of Americans are able to see the Bush years for the unqualified success that they are. "I thank you for giving me a chance to defend a record that I am going to continue to defend, because I think it's a good, strong record," the president declared.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203005_pf.html