Bush tries to win goodwill as tenure ends

Ref: NDTV.com

Maya Mirchandani

Friday, January 16, 2009 8:41 AM(Washington)

US President George W Bush is set to hand the reins to Barack Obama. President Bush bid farewell in a final speech on Friday after an eight year term.

As Bush packs his bags and prepares to leave the White House in five days, America's most unpopular president is trying to win back some goodwill from his countrymen.

"History can only judge the breadth of this presidency after some time, not immediately," said Bush in his last press conference as the US President.

A new poll suggests that his approval ratings have gone up slightly since the farewell appearances began. Could that be just because people are excited to see him go? Or they may genuinely miss his gaffes?

After all, he is the president who told America that he had been "mis-underestimated", and told Pope Benedict he'd made an "awesome speech".

Ironically, as unpopular as President Bush has been, his wife Laura has been on top of the popularity charts throughout the eight years. She is considered to be the most popular first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt.

So in his farewell appearances and exit interviews, as they are being called, he makes sure she's right by his side as he reflects and defends the decisions he made during his eight year presidency.

As the countdown to Barack Obama's swearing in begins, the outgoing president is gracious in defeat.

"I have a front row seat to history in the making," says Bush.

He defended his decisions post 9/11 calling them tough ones even though some of his countrymen didn't agree.

And as America says goodbye to Bush, many wonder if Barack Obama would have managed a landslide victory had George W Bush not been this unpopular.