After the White House: A Retirement Plan for President Bush

On January 20, 2009, George W. Bush became a former President and will have to consider how he will spend his time after leaving the White House, no longer at center stage in the events of the day, both in our country and in the world. So, what do presidents do after they leave office? Some, like Richard Nixon, wrote books to annotate the history of the time and to modify our view of the accomplishments of his administration. Others, like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, remain participants in the events of the world while performing good works through their respective foundations, addressing the problems of climate change, HIV/AIDS, childhood obesity, economic development, human rights and the reduction of human suffering. George H.W. Bush teamed with Bill Clinton to encourage aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and continues to help raise money for cancer research. Now, as eight tumultuous years of a presidency determined by a single Supreme Court vote in 2000 comes to an end and George Bush ponders what he should do with the rest of his life, I offer some suggestions for how he should occupy his time, the likely result of which would be personal growth and contributions to our country.

As of this writing, 4,219 members of the U.S. military, including 11 Pentagon civilians, have died in Iraq, a war initiated on the basis of faulty intelligence and executed with a flawed strategic plan. The men and women who make up our armed forces rely on the integrity and good sense of their leaders and everyone acknowledges that their work, under difficult circumstances, is both heroic and worthy of praise. I would humbly suggest that President Bush spend time visiting the families of each and every one of our fallen soldiers, whose loss is more than just a picture in the paper one day or a funeral with military honors. It is a lifelong experience. In these families there are now thousands of children without a parent and thousands of parents who are missing a son or a daughter. For them, there will always be an empty chair at the family table. Such visits, likely requiring two in a day, would take between five and 10 years and would require the President to travel to each state in the union. He could see how our country is more than just the sum of the individual states and that the most important matters in life are neither blue nor red.

Once he has completed this journey, President Bush should visit the soldiers who continue to receive care in V.A. hospitals throughout the country. These soldiers, though surviving, often are living with tremendous challenges, including amputations, burns and brain injuries. Their lives and those of their families will never be the same. They, too, deserve to meet face to face with the Commander in Chief of the country they loyally and heroically served. Visiting with these people, pushing their wheelchairs and reading to them would likely be appreciated. We often forget about these people and the nature of their particular sacrifice; President Bush could help us remember them, too.

Since the war began, more than 90,000 Iraqi civilians have died, nearly 9,000 in 2008. The effect on their families is no less tragic than those within our own country and a visit to them no less important. Unfortunately, the soon-to-be-former President may not find himself welcome at the door of many houses in Iraq to help those families understand their own loss, but he should, after his departure, still find a way to help those relief organizations committed to easing the suffering of these families.

While the President is traveling the states visiting families and soldiers, it would be informative for him to also spend time in the public schools and observe the dedication of underpaid teachers who, often with their own money, buy the supplies they need to teach. It would give the President a clearer view of the numbers of children who, during his administration, are still being left behind. He also could find some time to head back to New Orleans, roll up his sleeves with many other citizens, and help those who are still there rebuild their community and construct houses for people who still have no real home.

The numbers of people who lack health insurance and are dealing with life-threatening illnesses are higher now than when the President took office. It could be enlightening for President Bush to visit emergency rooms and county hospitals where millions of people now go for their primary care and to witness the struggles of people suffering from life-threatening diseases. These people have to confront a health care system both complex and often unresponsive at a time when they are least able to handle it. One can only imagine the additional burden for these people and the elderly if the country had followed his suggestion to privatize Social Security.

At its best, retirement offers an opportunity to continue to learn and deepen one's understanding of our shared world and ultimately of ourselves. Some people attend community college or return to universities for advanced degrees to expand their knowledge and refine their thinking, in the light of their life experiences. President Bush might find this to be particularly useful. I would suggest he consider courses in science and discovery, the great religions of the world and even a course in constitutional law. It would help him understand the difference between the scientific methods used to uncover the mysteries of the universe, both physical and biological, and matters of faith. He would gain a better understanding of the legal basis for habeas corpus and the eighth amendment limiting cruel and unusual punishment.

So, as President Bush leaves the White House and returns to Texas with considerable life and energy left before him, we can only hope for him what we want for ourselves; to learn from our mistakes and others, and to do good in the world with the time, intellect and freedom that we are blessed to have.

Comments

[irvingbr]

I'm still puzzled how this MAN got elected twice.

[NotMcCain]

Is it wrong that my fantasy was that post-Presidency, Bush would find his fortune had been invested in companies that have gone bankrupt on his watch?

In this scenario, he is forced to wander America, penniless and half-mad (like King Lear), searching for one person who gives a d*mn about his fate.

In my fantasy, There Are None.


As for your scenario here, it would be excellent. Unfortunately, this man has neither the intellect nor the heart to do ANY of the above--or ever think of these lives he's ruined (thank G*d he didn't wipe us ALL out peranently with the idiotic privatization of Social Security).

[Forman]

Hello Stephen, this is Jerry Forman. Great ideas, filled with compassion for Bush in his golden years. Unfortunately, he probably will not take your sage advice as he will be too busy collecting comic books for his presidential library. Or perhaps he will spend time in one of our nation's fine penal institutions, unless a war crimes tribunal decides to send him to Abu Ghraib instead.

[Bienville]

My suggestion is that Bush should travel to each and every residence in the United States and present his ass for a swift kick.

[Kikaida1]

I've got a much more appropriate retirement plan for President Bush -- it's called The Hague.

[That Guy]

AMEN

[okiedemocrat]

Come on folks, he will spend his time planning the museum in Dallas that will bear his name. That's a heck of a lotta work. It will take a lot of energy and P.R. agency input to put a positive spin on his 8 years of bad leadership. Might get Disney involved to help with what will surely be a "Fantasyland" like museum-going experience.

[bigfated]

With so much free time, Bush might consider visiting the burial sites of some of our Founding Fathers and try to explain to them just why he found it necessary to viciously attack their good works.....SUCH AS THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. He might explain why he thought he and his band of merry men were the ones to undo their efforts. His shame will live in infamy! He has betrayed his nation, spit on the rule of law, and made the lives of untold millions hell....here and abroad! God Damn Bush-------God Bless Obama!

[hortonhearsawho2]

Three months from now he will still be trying to figure out how to open the front door...

[hollace]

He should also go by his relatives houses and say Mom, Dad,Jeb, why did you let me make life and death decisions , why did you put me out there Knowing I may endanger the lives of others? They lived with him and Knew he did not really have the brains to be in charge of anything.

[Senzasord]

It is my fervent hope that all of this will be rendered moot as he will be found guilty of war crimes at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. I hear Spandau prison is nice this time of year.

[11907281]

I don't know how the article can state "90,000 Iraqi casualties" when America said they don't do body counts? Most places had that number years ago.

[RRonin]

Maybe if Bush wants to get into Heaven, this would be a good place for him to start...assuming he actually is a believer and is concerned about how he's going to spend eternity......

[jotunloki]

Bush should visit the Hague. I'm sure the nice folks there could find something interesting to occupy his time.

[zanzig]

Perfect!

[oldgeek1]

Hopefully we will learn from his mistakes.

Bush and Cheney still are in denial not believing they made any mistakes.

[shadowgm]

Dr. Forman, what gives you the idea that Mr. Bush is even capable of considering such a journey, let alone taking it? We not only have the past eight years, but Bush's record in business and his disastrous turn at ownership of the Texas Rangers.

Even now, with a failed economy, a terrorist attack, a devastating hurricane, and two botched wars on his watch, he's waxing poetic about how history will judge him. And the first step of your proposed journey requires Mr. Bush develop something he apparently had surgically removed: honesty.

Any journey, be it intellectual, emotional, or spiritual, requires honesty if the outcome is to bring growth. But it's not just George that needs a journey of healing and growth - it's America. It's time to be honest where our past leaders, media, and opinion mongers have not been. It's time to discard the cheerleaders of the Bush Era who stood in defense of every wrong step their idol took.

If they're unwilling to take that journey as well, then we shouldn't cancel our own just so they have company in their moral swamp.

[zanzig]

Agreed. This is the man who claimed to have given up golf in sympathy with the fallen soldiers; what empathy can one expect?