Bush says it's sad to leave White House
The interview was taped in the spring, before the Wall Street meltdown that turned the 2008 presidential election into a referendum on George W. Bush's stewardship of the economy. Back then, both the president and the first lady gave exclusive interviews to C-SPAN, along with unpredecented access to the White House's private and public spaces, for a weeklong "White House Week" the network is planning to launch Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
C-SPAN's venerable Brian Lamb, who built the network on the premise that viewers wanted an unfiltered camera inside the corridors of power in Washington, asked the president:
What's your feeling about walking out of here for the last time?
To which the president replied:
I'll be sad in a way. I mean, sad because we have become so close with many of the people who work here. We'll have eight years here working with most of the same people all the time. ... These have become like family. And so I'll be grateful on the one hand and sad to know that I won't see them a lot.
On the other hand, I'm fully aware that it's healthy for democracies to change leadership and I'm also somewhat joyous about the fact that I'm heading home to Texas.
C-SPAN is offering this preview of the president's interview to watch here.
-- Johanna Neuman
Photo credit: Paul Morse / White House
I think that it is good that he is glad to be leaving and not bad because i think that with obama president that some stuff will get done!
Posted by: Rachel Aadf | November 18, 2008 at 08:56 PM