A Cocooned Life: Bush Post-Presidency

[inbhirnis]

Interesting story on Bush's life, post presidency. While I guess any president, after leaving office, is inevitably a bit cocooned from the rest of the world due to security concerns, you get the clear sense that this one is only too happy to be in a bubble - living in a rabidly conservative Republican neighborhood, interacting only with friends and supporters, and the regular folk are kept far away. As well as the physical separation, it's also clear from the article that he is living in a sealed-off world intellectually: all that matters to him is his legacy, as evidenced by his single-minded work on his library and memoir. As they left Washington on January 20, they watched unctuous videos from people singing his praises; his circle of friends sounds very small and fiercely loyal ("everybody - everybody - just loved him", said one); and he still loves to wear that jacket with the presidential seal.

One gets the impression that this president won't be jetting round the world on humanitarian causes (maybe because there's a decent chance he could be arrested for war crimes if he leaves the US), or building homes for the disadvantaged in this country.

---here's the not-too-impressive looking Presidential pad, courtesy of Google. I'm surprised it hasn't been pixellated, as happened with the Vice Presidential residence in DC when Cheney lived there. When Biden moved in, that pixellation was removed.

Comments

[mister-don.livejournal.com]

Apparently Laura didn't want to be stuck out on that ranch in Crawford which I believe was sold

[inbhirnis.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd read about that, too - but the article talks about them spending weekends there. Maybe they're getting ready to sell it and spend their time in Dallas Republican suburbia.

[arktos62.livejournal.com]

It's always interesting to see how world leaders respond to the loss of power. Mrs Thatcher never really recovered from it, Tony Blair seems to be busier than ever and Vladimir Putin left the presidency, but is still in control!

[inbhirnis.livejournal.com]

I read that Blair's trying to get out of his thankless Middle East Czar job and is angling to be the first President of the EU (if the Irish can be persuaded to change their minds about the EU constitution).

[cogitoergozoom.livejournal.com]

He's still in Texas? I thought for sure he'd move to Mubai with his Arab oil buddies!

[inbhirnis.livejournal.com]

I heard he's pining for the King of Saudi Arabia - he wants to give him another kiss on the cheek (which apparently didn't upset the right-wingers when he did it a year or so ago; when Obama appears to have made some kind of a bowing gesture - all hell broke loose!).