Five years into the Iraq war and the announcement that the country’s in a real recession and President George W. Bush told ABC News’ Charlie Gibson he’s sorry in an interview for World News Monday.
With only weeks left to go in his eight-year long presidency, Bush, who’s never before publicly shown a glimmer of awareness of his troubled legacy, told Gibson that he was “unprepared” for the Iraq war.
"In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack,'" Bush said. "In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen."
Beyond the Iraq war, Bush made a thinly veiled attempt at an apology regarding the spiraling economy.
“I'm sorry it's happening, of course," Bush told Gibson. "Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will."
During the extended interview Bush also touched on his place in the GOP and how his presidency might have affected Sen. John McCain’s shot at becoming the next President.
“I think it was a repudiation of Republicans," Bush said. And of Barack Obama’s landslide victory, he added "And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy."
