President contrite but still defiant

WASHINGTON — President Bush used the final news conference of his presidency Monday to dispute the idea that the nation's "moral standing has been damaged" by his actions and to warn President-elect Obama that, despite the turbulence in the economy, his most urgent priority must be fighting "an enemy that would like to attack America and Americans again."

Looking back over the long arc of his turbulent presidency, Bush was by turns impassioned and defiant, reflective and lighthearted, even as he conceded that some things "didn't go according to plan."

He confessed a litany of mistakes, refused to talk about pardons, cautioned Republicans to be inclusive and wondered aloud what it would feel like to make coffee for his wife, Laura, at their Texas ranch on the morning after Obama takes office.

Bush showed flashes of the humor that helped elect him, as when he said — without offering specifics — that he intended to get busy quickly after leaving office.

"I just can't envision myself, you know, with a big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt, sitting on some beach," the president said, adding, "particularly since I quit drinking."

But the most striking moment of the 47-minute, question-and-answer session, by far, was Bush's rousing defense of his record on fighting terrorism and the suggestion by some critics that America's moral standing has been damaged by harsh interrogation tactics, the creation of a detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the decision to go to war in Iraq without a U.N. mandate.

"It may be damaged amongst some of the elite," Bush replied, "but people still understand America stands for freedom, that America is a country that provides such great hope."

Bush admonished reporters, and by extension, his successor and the nation, not to forget the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001, and the climate of fear in which his policies were forged.

"All these debates will matter not if there is another attack on the homeland," he said, his voice rising. "You remember what it was like right after September the 11th around here? People were saying, 'How come they didn't see it? How come they didn't connect the dots?' Do you remember what the environment was like in Washington? I do."

Bush would not address the possibility, widely debated in legal and political circles, that he might issue so-called pre-emptive pardons to counterterrorism agents or administration officials who could face criminal prosecution for a range of activities, including waterboarding or the firing of U.S. attorneys.

"I won't be discussing pardons here," he said, cutting off the question. It was the only question he refused to answer.

The last time Bush took questions from reporters was in Baghdad, where an Iraqi journalist made international headlines by throwing two shoes at him.

Monday's news conference featured only questions, no shoes, and it will not be the final word from the president. The White House said Bush would deliver a farewell address from the White House on Thursday night.

Bush said he didn't know he had become so divisive. "I don't know why they get angry," he replied to a question about those who disagreed with his policies so vehemently that it became personal. "I don't know why they get hostile," adding that he had learned not to pay attention.

"I don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see, if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country," Bush said.

It has been nearly eight years since Bush arrived in Washington vowing to be "a uniter, not a divider," with the idea that his presidency would focus on domestic issues.

He leaves behind two unfinished wars and an economy in turmoil, and the wear and tear shows. At 62, he is more gray and a bit more wrinkled. Yet Bush said he had "never felt isolated" and dismissed the idea of the presidency as a burden.

Bush began the news conference by thanking the reporters who covered him, although the relationship was often tense. He fielded a variety of questions, including whether he would ask Congress to release $350 billion in bailout money — he later did so, at the request of Obama — and why his efforts to bring about a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians had failed.

"I know we have advanced the process," he said.

Bush has said he believes history will be the judge of his presidency, and while he said so again Monday, he did deliver his assessment. Four years ago, he was asked if he had made mistakes, and struggled to come up with an answer, a moment that came to define him as unwilling to engage in critical self-analysis.

Bush was ready this time. It was clearly a mistake, he said, to display the "Mission Accomplished" banner during the 2003 shipboard speech in which he declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended.

"It sent the wrong message," he said. "Obviously, some of my rhetoric has been a mistake."

Bush said he had "thought long and hard" about Hurricane Katrina, an iconic low point of his years in office. But he did not say what might have been done differently.

He also said, for the first time, he believed he should have pressed an overhaul of immigration laws instead of focusing on Social Security after the 2004 election.

He predicted a Republican comeback but said he was "concerned that in the wake of the defeat that the temptation will be to look inward."

Looking ahead, Bush has said he intends to write a book and to work on his library and public-policy institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

One thing he does not intend to do, he said, is make news.

"When I get out of here, I'm getting off the stage," Bush said. "I've had my time in the klieg lights."

Details about Bush's defense

of his terrorism policies were provided

by The Washington Post.