President Bush Discusses 9/11, Economy in Exit Interview

President Bush gave his first "exit interview" to ABC Word News' Charles Gibson, and among the revelations: He was "unprepared" for the 9/11 attacks and regretted the WMD intelligence that led him to the Iraq War. He said, "I think was unprepared for war. In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack.' In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents-- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen." Bush does believe that 9/11 brought the country together, though.

He added, "A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn't just people in my administration. A lot of members of Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington D.c., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of the nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence. I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess." And when Gibson asked him if he would have gone to war, knowing that there were no WMDs, he said, "That is a do-over that I can't do."

Another regret: Not passing a comprehensive bill on immigration reform. But President Bush doesn't regret his actions about the economy so far, including passing the $700 billion bailout (he points out that Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke were saying, "If we don't act boldly, we could be in a depression greater than the Great Depression") and not saving Lehman ("We'll let the historians look back on that").

You can read the entire transcript of the interview here. Also interesting: Video of Bush, Laura Bush and daughter Barbara Bush discussing President-elect Obama's victory; the elder Bushes said they never thought they'd see an African-American elected president in their lifetimes, whereas Barbara said she did.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 2, 2008 9:01 AM

Comments [rss]

Future Taliban

The next time I see George Bush's retarded mug I want it to be swinging from the end of a noose like any other murderous war-criminal scumbag.

The Man Bat

George, they got a nice cozy little cell in the Hague with your name on the door. War Criminal.

Dan Dickinson

Would anyone's opinion on this administration change if the torture, wiretapping and other black bag escapades had really prevented a major homeland attack? Do you think they would tell us if it had? Would you want to know?

They seem more than willing to tell us every time there's a possibility of a threat - I would much rather hear about plots successfully being foiled than about a plot that might still happen.

JenChungsBaby

Alright George. Thanks. You're no longer needed. Please exit quietly.

jt10000

"Playing devil's advocate, but one could argue that Iraq works effectively as a honeypot for Al-Queda....recruiting and keeping them busy killing there instead of here."

Even is this is true, which it isn't, considering the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis that have dired due to the war, this concept is profoundly immoral. When we add in the number of US soldiers killed or seriously injuried compared to deaths/damage from actual terrorist attacks, such a calculus is even more out of whack.

Felix Hoenikker

Playing devil's advocate, but one could argue that Iraq works effectively as a honeypot for Al-Queda....recruiting and keeping them busy killing there instead of here.

The antrax plot was domestic IIRC.

Personal freedom, security and activity on the world stage: pick any two. I'd personally argue for isolationism, but if we're going to side with Israel, the Saudi royals, and India (for example) there will be repercussions.

Yes, the Bush administration bungled Katrina relief, but the city was a setup for failure...built under-water and just a nudge away from lawlessness to begin with through years of local governmental neglect and corruption.

Would anyone's opinion on this administration change if the torture, wiretapping and other black bag escapades had really prevented a major homeland attack? Do you think they would tell us if it had? Would you want to know?

MaiaW

"That is a do-over that I can't do."

Priceless.

chris lee

Bush is crazy like a fox. Wars aren't made to to be won or lost per se. This one is made to seem like an endlessly unstable environment. Useful for endless congressional appropriations, a market for arms dealers and black market oil profits. Suckers...

Spirit of 76

Oh, please. Does he really think anybody is drinking his Kool Aid anymore? Of course he was prepared for war. He was just itching for an excuse to attack Saddam and everybody knows that. And that whole "9/11 brought people together"? Yes, it did. And then he, Rove and the rest of his dumbass cabinet ripped the country apart again.

NannyState

We were "unprepared" for 8 years of the most incompetent, negligent, and arrogantly destructive administration in US history. With Katrina, Bush blew past James Buchanan as the singular worst president. Add Dick Cheney and all the rest, and you have a recipe for a nation's destruction. This fucker leaves a wasteland behind him. I hope he loses everything in a stock market scam and goes blind.

robingee

Bush condones torture. Torture gets Americans killed. Soldiers and civilians.

jt10000

"This is a security that no one would have thought possible in the weeks following 9/11"

Ummm, no it's security that is pretty normal around the world. We do know that GWB's policies have resulted in more American dead than in the 9/11 attacks, contributed to the death of several hundred thousand innocent Iraqis and *increased* terrorism around the world -- probably contributing to attacks in other countries.

There is a reason why Al Quaeda wanted Bush re-elected and hoped McCain would win -- the so called Global War on Terror as currently practiced by the US Government is a major terrorist recruiting program...

Dan Dickinson

hbomb: Remember when we stopped that plot to send anthrax to the media and several senators? The plot that, if we hadn't stopped it, would've killed 5 people, injured 17, and set off another wave of paranoia?

Oh. Right.

99centmenu

Right, yes, I'm so thankful for air-tight security, and all it cost me was the slow, painful death of some of my basic civil rights.

hbomb1947

It's really breathtaking how some people are so blinded by Bush Derangement Syndrome that they can't credit our President for having kept us safe in the last 7-plus years, even as Islamofacist terrorists have struck again and again in places like Bali, Madrid, London, and most recently Mumbai. This is a security that no one would have thought possible in the weeks following 9/11, when everyone thought we would be hit again.

Mr Mel

("We'll let the historians look back on that").

Oh boy, will they.

Dirk

Gee thanks, George. Don't the door hit on the way out.

Atomische

Impeach Cheney first!

Ethan

Typical alcoholic.

FrankMartin

No tie. But what you can't see is that he is in loafers and suspenders. no laces or bets allowed. suicide watch!

I

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

He should be hung for all the lives he killed and destroyed with his lies

nohateparade

not only is he a liar, he's blaming america. like it's our fault that we elected him because we were under the impression that he would improve national security amongst other things, like presidential responsibilities.

r1b2

Putz.

Let's celebrate the fact that we've seen the back of another black day.

babyhitler

His List would longer than the empire state building. He did campaign to say that he'd be able to handle an attack and keep us safe in 04 so he's a fucking liar.

neckbeard

last ditch effort at upping his approval rating so he'll get paid lots of money to write books he doesn't know how to read and give graduation speeches he doesn't know how to write.

nohateparade

and a cancer to society.

jt10000

Basically, on stuff other than the economy, environment, national security, civil rights, education, healthcare, international relations, infrastructure, food safety and disaster response he did pretty good.

nohateparade

"yeah...yikes. all these people died because of the war. don't look at me! i didn't really want this to happen. i didn't know what i was doing. but at least our togetherness is stronger than ever. 9-11 for life, bro!"

what a supreme jerk.

Wza

"...And slowly but surely the system is becoming unthawed, and it's going to take time for the system to become unthawed. What the American people have got to know is we've taken the steps to unthaw it, which is the first step to recovery...."

Once again, another classic Bush quote.

This douche should just leave now.