Bush: "Liberating" To Be Out Of Office, Picking Up Dog Poop

ARTESIA, N.M. — It was a humbling moment for the former commander in chief: President George W. Bush was walking former first dog Barney in his new Dallas neighborhood when it stopped in a neighbor's yard for relief.

"And there I was, former president of the United States of America, with a plastic bag on my hand," he told a group of graduating high school students in New Mexico on Thursday. "Life is returning back to normal."

Bush, in one of his few public appearances since leaving office in January, told the students that leaving office lifted a heavy burden.

"I no longer feel that great sense of responsibility that I had when I was in the Oval Office. And frankly, it's a liberating feeling," he told seniors from Artesia High School.

He received a warm welcome in the southeastern New Mexico community, the Roswell Daily Record reported. Bush declined interviews and no video cameras were allowed inside.

The crowd gave him multiple standing ovations and after his speech he was presented with a sculpture of an eagle taking flight from a torch. The sculpture will be dedicated at City Hall on Memorial Day in honor of Bush and America's veterans.

Bush invoked an Iraq veteran's story to motivate the students to continue their educations. He described visiting Army Staff Sgt. Christian Bagge, a soldier from Oregon who lost both legs in combat.

When he visited Bagge at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Bush told him that someday Bagge would get out of his bed and run.

Then, one day, an aide went into Bush's office and said Bagge was waiting on the South Lawn and wanted to go running with the president.

If Bagge could do that, Bush told the students: "You can go to college."

Bush said he hoped President Barack Obama's administration would be successful. He also said he was writing a book about some of the difficult decisions he made while in office.

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Information from: Roswell Daily Record, http://www.roswell-record.com

Comments

[LLisaLL]

What a juxapostion: Obama at Notre Dame - Bush at a New Mexico HS. Not to belittle the HS but it seems the correct level of fit for each man.

[RTIII]

...Elementary school would be a stretch for Shrub...
.

[onnyang]

Bush's liberation...
and most of us in bondage...
we'll be picking up your crap for years to come...

[widdles]

Gee, George - if only we had realized 8 years ago, we would have liberated you from the White Hosue back then and saved us all a lot of grief!

[OleLadySquawking]

LOL

[helpusa]

Many of us did try to liberate Georgie for at least 7 years. I wanted him Impeached and now I would like to see him picking rocks at a prison.

[MajorKong]

If he wants to make himself useful there's plenty of bedpans at Walter Reed that need changing.

[OleLadySquawking]

Good point.

[kiwi777]

Well at least Bush is hoping the Obama administration will be successful and staying away from criticizing Obama...unlike Dick

[karen1p]

Now, you can eat it, Schrub.

[Colmore]

I am amazed that Barney is still around. Wasn't he one of the "photo ops" like the "ranch" the "bible study classes" the "bike riding"??? Poor Barney. Someone should liberate him. Where is Georgie's next speech, kindergarten graduation?

[AsianAfricanAMERICAN]

Bush finally said something I agree with: it is very liberating!

[dfranz]

Geedubbya, you're going to need a bigger bag if you really want to pick up all of that crap.

[njgal4obama]

I'll bet one of his bodyguards provided at taxpayer expense picked up the mess his dog left in the yard. The speech only reads, "there I was, the former President of the United States of America with a plastic bag 'on' my hand." He never says he actually picked it up.

Glad life returned to normal for you, W. I suspect having other people do your dirty work pretty much has always been normal life, even before you were president.

[human2008]

Most liberating for Bush - he does not need to deal with Dick Cheney anymore. Sad for him while in WH was not taking a stick and sp**k Dick Cheney's behind - Cheney single-handedly ruined GWB's presidency. Bush is by far a gentleman and he is keeping distance from Dick Cheney .

President Obama said that GWB was a good man and I thought he was right.

[kassandrasduplex]

Why is this man not fighting for his life in the Hague or at least before the SCOTUS?

[poobah]

Is that an example of picking yourself up by your own bootstraps?

[MathIsTruth]

Any week of news stories that associate both George W Bush and Glen Beck with dog poop is a good week.

[karen1p]

snap

[Grannysue]

Seems they finally found a job that your qualified to do there shrub!