Bush gave an emotional and defiant farewell today/tonight (depending on where people are in the world). What did he say and more importantly, what did he mean?

The title of this ABC News article is: "Historian-in-chief: Bush frames legacy in farewell speech; George W Bush Defends Presidency as an Era of Accomplishment Amid Adversity". The "adversity" that Bush was referring to is the imminent possibility of another terrorist attack, a theme on which he based his entire final speech. Here's the big question/issue facing historians and writers now: how to evaluate the "historian-in-chief". How can we sum up the Bush legacy?

The first sentence of this article is: "President Bush became historian-in-chief Thursday night,delivering a farewell speech designed to frame his presidency as an era of accomplishment and challenges and contesting his critics' more dour assessments that are reflected in sagging public opinion polls". The most significant words and phrases in this statement are "accomplishments" "challenges", "dour assessments" and "sagging public opinion polls". Bush did not use the word 'failure' although many seem to think that way as his final term comes to a close with record low approval ratings.

Bush tried to stay away from the negative, using phrases such as "optimism and future oriented" and "time of great consequences" when referring to some of his policies that did not work so well (e.g. the second Iraq invasion on the faulty premise that Saddam Hussei had weapons of mass destruction which led to skyrocketing sectarian tensions and a resurgence of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan due to neglect of that conflict).

Bush's first full statement was "You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made, but I hope you will agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions". This is something that we have to concede to Bush. He made many tough decisions and stayed the course, even when that made him immensely unpopular.

According to White HOuse counsel Ed Gillespie, "I think (that) he would like to be remembered as someone who stuck by his principles, understanding that in making tough decisions, not everyone is going to agree with the tough decisions that he's made". Many people don't agree with Bush. That's why his job approval ratings are at record lows!

According to ABC, "After initially questioning whether to give a farewell speech, White House officials said Bush became "very involved" in assembling the usually terse message. Departing from a tradition of Oval Office farewell speeches, Bush gave his farewell speech in the East Room of the White House so (that) he could single out four members of a small audience to thank as examples of what Gillespie described as "grace, courage and compassion". These again have been recurring themes throughout the Bush years in the White House.

How does Bush think he will be remembered? "As the years passed, many Americans were able to return to life much as it been before 911 - but I never did. Every morning I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe. There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil". Mr. President, have you not considered that since you made Iraq the focal point of our foreign policy, the Taleban and al-Qaeda have experienced a resurgence in Afghanistan and our economy is basically in tatters? Also al-Qaeda in Iraq did not exist before we barged in.

Even Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was somewhat critical of Bush: "As the din of debate and argument fades, things that were once thought to be impossible are remembered years later as well, inevitable. That is why, Mr. President, history's judgment is rarely the same as today's headlines". Wow. This is stunning. "History is rarely the same as today's headlines?" Rice could easily have been referring to Bush's popularity ratings which peaked in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 but have been plummeting and plunging to the historic lows that we see today.

Rice's remarks sounded like a damning criticism of Bush by someone who was regarded as one of his closest confidantes. However Bush was outspoken in his praise for Rice: "History will say that Condi Rice was one of the greatest secretaries of state our country has ever had". This is a pretty definitive statement which is also somewhat surprising considering what Rice said earlier.

Next, US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and former commander of multi-national forces in Iraq David Petraeus were awarded Medals of Freedom. Bestowing this honor upon these men, Bush said "When the story of this transformation is written, historians will note the extraordinary partnership between two men - Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. As the general carried out a surge of military forces to improve security, the ambassador led a civilian surge to improve everyday life". Again, Bush is emphasizing Iraq and it is precisely this overemphasis on Iraq instead of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the economy that has put a huge dent in his popularity.

According to ABC, "As the nation struggles to bail out the financial and auto industries and millions of Americans lose their jobs, the president reminded them that his presidency brought 52 months of uninterrupted job creation, the longest in the nation's history". Mr. President, you were also leader during one of the most epic collapses in US history, second only to the Great Depression and we surely don't want to see anything like 1929 ever again.

The final section of this article is entitled "Gracious toward Obama, Wistful with Staff". Bush was gracious toward Obama (which is in effect a damning criticism of his eight years in Washington), but there is no evidence that he was wistful with his staff and this isn't all that surprising considering that the Bush administration had one of the highest staff turnover rates in recentr memory: two Defense Secretaries (the disgraced Donald Rumsfeld & Robert Gates), two Secretaries of State (Colin Powell & Condoleeza Rice), three Treasury Secretaries (Paul O'Neill, John Snow & Hank Paulson; this is a huge indicator of how badly the economy has slumped under Bush's watch) and four press secretaries (Ari Fleischer, Scott McCllelan, Tony Snow and Dana Perino). In his farewell speech, Before signing off for the last time, Bush said "In a tradition dating back to our founding, the presidency will pass to a successor, chosen by you, the American people. Standing on the steps of the capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduirng promise of our land. This is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. And I join all Americans in offering best wishes to President-elect Obama, his wife Michelle and their two beautiful girls". Bush was forthright and wistful, but conciliatory in the end and this is something that many other leaders, especially Chinese leaders, must learn: just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean that you have to step all over them. Jamming ideas down people's throats won't create a very good impression. Being conciliatory and gracious is far more fruitful.  

What about the outgoing First Lady, Laura Bush? According to her communications director Sally McDonough, "Mrs. Bush did express that when she moved here that she would have lovely historic pieces to choose from so she did not bring a lot of furniture. She did bring a piece that was important to her - and it is a chest of drawers that belonged to President Bush's grandmother. Mrs. Bush has done a lot of her packing and all the boxes are packed and moved". Hang on. Aren't the Bushes wistful about leaving Washington for good? Obama isn't scheduled to arrive in Washington for 3 more days. Could Bush be eager to get out of Washington to avoid seeing his horrendous popularity ratings on his last day?

According to White HOuse Press Secretary Dana Perino, "He is sad, in some ways". Perino must be one of the most boring speakers in recent memory.

The last part of this report is somewhat wistful: "Over the next couple days, White House staffers will go through the time-consuming process of turning in their passes, coded label pins, Blackberries (those are allowed in the White House?), cell phones and security clearances. At 9 pm Friday, the highest level staffers will turn in their gear and the West Wing will become something of a ghost town". Bush has accepted the fact that he will be out of the spotlight in a matter of days, but for some of his staff, it will be hard to leave that spotlight behind.

After that...the Obama years begin!