George W. Bush fame, He was the most powerful man on the planet for eight years. Now former US president George W Bush has spoken frankly about the perils of leadership, saying holding on to power for too long can be ‘corrosive’.
Mr Bush, who served two terms in the White House, said he thought being in charge could ‘dim your vision’ because you get carried away with fame.
He admitted that while he was president he came to understand how ‘fame can become very addictive’.
Mr Bush said: ‘I’ve had all the fame a man could want... I don’t long for [fame]. Nor do I long for power. I’ve come to realise that power can be corrosive if you’ve had it for too long.
‘It can dim your vision. And so I came to the conclusion that, you know, I don’t long for fame.’
He also confessed he has deliberately avoided the limelight since leaving office.
It is unclear whether the comments will help to rehabilitate his image. A poll last year found he is the most unpopular living president, with 54 per cent saying they had an unfavourable view of him.
While 43 per cent said they did like him, this was low compared to the two-thirds who said they still liked former President Bill Clinton.
After he came into office in 2001, Mr Bush embarked on two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have resulted in the deaths of 6,471 American troops. Some 32,000 US soldiers were injured in Iraq and 18,000 in Afghanistan.
At least 132,000 civilians have died in both conflicts.
Mr Bush was speaking to The Huffington Post during the third annual Warrior 100K challenge, a three-day mountain bike ride hosted at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
The 75 riders who took part included 13 veterans who have been physically or psychologically wounded during their service in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Asked if he felt responsible for their injuries, Mr Bush said: ‘Well, to a certain extent you can’t help it, because had I not made decisions I made, they wouldn’t have been in combat.
‘On the other hand, every one of these men were volunteers. None of them are angry. They don’t blame anybody. And so I believe strongly that the decisions I made were the right decisions.’
He added: ‘I don’t feel sorry for them, because they don’t feel sorry for themselves.’
His comments risk angering veterans' groups who have long backed him as a former Commander in Chief.
Mr Bush is unapologetic about his war record and in his 2009 memoir said that it was ‘damn right’ to waterboard terror suspects in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
He was also dismissive of those who opposed his decision to open the Guantanamo Bay detention center and claimed that he was ‘blindsided’ about the abuses of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
George W. Bush fame
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