George W. Bush: 'Eight Years Was Awesome, And I Was Famous And I Was Powerful'

George W. Bush: 'Eight Years Was Awesome And I Was Famous And I Was Powerful'

George W. Bush finds life as a former president just fine and dandy.

"Eight years was awesome, and I was famous and I was powerful. But I have no desire for fame and power anymore," he said in a new interview with the Hoover Institute's Peter Robinson.

(Watch the interview, above)

Bush said that he has looked to his father, George H.W. Bush, as a model for how to act as an ex-president.

"I thought long and hard about that and decided that not being on the stage was something I was comfortable with," he said. "Peter, there's really no sacrifice in serving the country, particularly if you love the country like I do. But if there is one, it's loss of anonymity. And as best as I can, I'm trying to regain it."

Bush said that he also believed it was "bad" for the presidency to "have former presidents bloviating, opining and telling people how it ought to be done."

The former president is promoting a book on economic growth -- "The 4 Percent Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs" -- put out by the George W. Bush Institute. He wrote the foreword in it. According to the Associated Press, he is "set to give brief remarks at an event Tuesday evening in Dallas featuring several of those who contributed to the book."

Politico notes that in the Hoover interview, Bush also revealed that he is a fan of the iPad.

When asked what books were on his "bookstand," Bush said, "We don't have bookstands anymore. We've got iPads. Please."

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