(CNN) – Former President Bush released a statement Friday marking the eight-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Eight years ago, our Nation and our freedom came under attack. On this solemn anniversary, Laura and I hold the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers. We honor those who volunteer to keep us safe and extend the reach of freedom – including members of the armed forces, law enforcement officers, and intelligence and homeland security professionals. Their courage, service, and sacrifice is a fitting tribute to all those who gave their lives on September 11, 2001. On this day, let us renew our determination to prevent evil from returning to our shores.

President Obama has said he will not raise taxes on those making $250,000 or less.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - "Read my lips: No new taxes."

That famous phrase from George H.W. Bush came as he accepted his party's presidential nomination at the Republican National Committee convention in 1988.

At the time, it was exactly the red meat Republicans were looking for. But campaigning and governing are two very different things.

Bush was elected as the nation was slipping into a recession. When confronted with a growing national deficit, he had to find a source of revenue.

That revenue came in the way of raising taxes, a move that especially rankled members of the GOP and became an issue for Democrats to run on in 1992. Democrat Bill Clinton was swept into the White House.

Pushing forward to 2009, another president may have trekked onto the same territory.

On Monday, the White House sought to shoot down concerns that middle-class families may face a tax increase in order to combat rising deficits and a struggling economy after its two top money men floated the idea that tax increases to fund the nation's economic recovery could extend beyond the wealthiest Americans.

Full Story

The White House responded Thursday to recent comments by former President George W. Bush.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A day after former President George W. Bush seemed to criticize the Obama administration for departing from a number of his anti-terrorism policies, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back.

Asked about Bush's remarks during Thursday's press briefing Gibbs had a simple response. "We won," Gibbs told reporters.

In a vigorous defense of his own national security policies during a speech in Pennsylvania Wednesday, Bush appeared to take issue with the new administration's early decision to close the detention center in Guantanamo Bay and ban the use of aggressive interrogation techniques.

"I told you I'm not going to criticize my successor," Bush said, according to a report by the Washington Times. "I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind."

Gibbs said Thursday that the American people had made their own decision about battling terror.

"I think we've had a debate about individual policies. We had that debate in particular – we kept score last November and we won," Gibbs said.

Gibbs also responded Thursday to the former president's remarks that appeared to be directed at the Obama administration's unprecedented involvement in the private sector in the middle of the financial and economic crisis that began last fall at the end of Bush's tenure.

"President Obama believes that the free market is what governs our economic principles, and looks forward to getting out of the business of being involved in banks and in auto companies," Gibbs said.

–CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney contributed to this report.

Bush criticized a range of Obama policies Wednesday.

(CNN) – In his most critical comments to date of the Obama administration's policies, former President George Bush Wednesday warned against the nationalization of healthcare, government overreach in the country's financial system, and the potential effects of closing the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

"I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in," the former president said during a speech to business leaders in Erie, Pennsylvania, according to the Washington Times. "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money."

"Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States," he also said in the closed-door speech, according to the paper.

During the remarks — one of Bush’s first in the United States since leaving the White House - the former president commented on a wide-range of issues currently confronting the Obama administration, including the new president's push for universal healthcare.

"There are a lot of ways to remedy the situation without nationalizing health care," Bush said. "I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for health care."

Asked directly if he thought his successor was embracing "socialist" polices, Bush stopped short of weighing in one way or the other, instead saying: "We'll see."

In a vigorous defense of his own national security policies, the president appeared to take issue with the new administration's early decision to close the detention center in Guantanamo Bay and ban the use of aggressive interrogation techniques.

"I told you I'm not going to criticize my successor," he said, according to the paper. "I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind."

Bush, in contrast to former Vice President Dick Cheney, has largely remained silent on the new administration's decision to prohibit the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. But during his speech Wednesday the former president insisted he used "every technique and tool within the law to bring terrorists to justice before they strike again."

Bush also appeared to take a broad swipe at the tone of American politics in general, noting that partisan vitriol dates back to the founding fathers when Vice President Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton.

"At least when my vice president shot somebody, it was an accident," Bush said.

Can Obama keep up with Bush's reading pace?

(CNN) - It appears President Obama has to step up his reading pace if he wants to beat his predecessor in one particular measure: how many books a president can polish off a year.

In an interview with the BBC Tuesday, Obama said he is currently reading Joseph O'Neill's 270-page novel "Netherland," a book Obama first said he began back in April.

If Obama is close to finishing the novel, that puts him on less than a 10 book-a-year pace, far less than the close to 100 books President Bush was reportedly able to finish in the same amount of time.

According to former top Bush aide Karl Rove, he and the former president engaged in a friendly wager every year to see who could read more books.

In 2006, Bush read 95 books to Roves 110: a Herculean pace of nearly two books a week - in an election year to boot - for the ex-president. But, according to Rove, Bush's reading slowed a bit in the final years of his presidency, finishing a not-too-shabby 51 books in 2007 and at least 40 in 2008.

And if that's not impressive enough, Rove also said Bush found time to read the Bible "from cover to cover" every year.

While Obama may have had to put aside “Netherland” last month in favor of pages of court briefs with a Supreme Court vacancy to fill, it nevertheless appears the president has some summer reading to do.

In a Michigan speech, Bush spoke out about his administration's efforts to combat terrorism.

BENTON HARBOR, Michigan (CNN) – Former President George W. Bush on Thursday repeated Dick Cheney's assertion that their enhanced interrogation program was legal and garnered valuable information that prevented future terrorist attacks.

In his largest domestic speech since leaving the White House in January, Bush told an audience in southwestern Michigan that after the September 11 attacks, "I vowed to take whatever steps that were necessary to protect you."

Although he did not specifically allude to the high-profile debate over President Obama's decision to halt the use harsh interrogation techniques, and without referencing Cheney by name, Bush spoke in broad strokes about how he proceeded after the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in March 2003.

"The first thing you do is ask, what's legal?" he said. "What do the lawyers say is possible? I made the decision, within the law, to get information so I can say to myself, 'I've done what it takes to do my duty to protect the American people.' I can tell you that the information we got saved lives."

But Bush avoided the sharp tone favored by his former vice president in recent weeks, and went out of his way to stress that he does not want to disparage the new president.

"Nothing I am saying is meant to criticize my successor," Bush said. "There are plenty of people who have weighed in. Trust me, having seen it firsthand. I didn't like it when a former president criticized me, so therefore I am not going to criticize my successor. I wish him all the best."

The former president was speaking to nearly 2,500 members the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan. The format of the speech was changed at the last minute when Bush decided to answer questions directly from the audience members, instead of responding to pre-submitted questions provided to a moderator.

Bush repeated his disclaimer about not passing judgment Obama later in the speech when asked about North Korea's test of a nuclear weapon. Before answering, the 43rd president said that he is "in no way trying to shape my successor's decisions or criticize them."

"I know there are news people here, and they love conflict," he said.

On the topic of how to respond to North Korea, Bush said diplomacy is impossible without leverage.

"A lot of times people want to give out the carrots," he said. "My attitude is, you give out the carrots when the behavior changes."

After his opening remarks, Bush engaged in a nearly hour-long back-and-forth with audience members that touched on nearly all aspects of his presidency, from the September 11 attacks to his ban on embryonic stem cell research to his consultations with advisers as the economic crisis hit last year.

He strongly defended his Troubled Asset Relief Program as crucial to preventing capital markets from freezing up, which he said would have led to another Great Depression. He noted that he remains "a free market guy."

Bush was asked what he thinks about conservative pundits who claim the Obama administration's fiscal policies are opening the door to socialism.

"I've heard talk about that," he said. "I think the verdict is out. I think people are waiting to see what all this means."

The former president earned a noisy standing ovation when asked what he wants his legacy to be.

"Well, I hope it is this: The man showed up with a set of principles, and he was unwilling to compromise his soul for the sake of popularity," he said.

Bush also revealed the topic of the first chapter in his forthcoming book, which he said will be about "the stories of my administration as I saw them." That first chapter, he said, will be answer the question: "Why did I run for president?"

An aide to the former president did not disclose how much he was paid for the speaking appearance, which was booked through the Washington Speakers Bureau. After the event, Bush flew to Toronto, where he will appear tomorrow at a forum with his White House predecessor, Bill Clinton.

Bush missed both Obama and Cheney's speeches Thursday, a source tells CNN.

(CNN) - So what did former President Bush think about President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney's dueling speeches on national security policies Thursday?

He didn't watch them.

A source close to Bush said the former president was traveling at the time, enroute to New Mexico where he is the keynote speaker Thursday night at a fund raising dinner for a scholarship program for students at Artesia High School.

Former President George W. Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch next week at the Texas Rangers' home opener against the Cleveland Indians.

(CNN) – Former President George W. Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch next week at the Texas Rangers' home opener against the Cleveland Indians.

The event marks the fourth time a president has thrown the first pitch of the Rangers' season, and marks Bush's second time on a Major League pitching mound. Former President Gerald Ford threw out the first pitch in 1976, George H. W. Bush did the honors in 1991, and George W. Bush followed his father's lead in 2000.

The Rangers hold a special place in the former president's heart: he was managing general partner of the Texas baseball team from 1989-1994, prior to his election as state governor.

Former President George W. Bush will discuss some of the defining decisions of his presidency in a new book.

(CNN) – Former President George W. Bush is writing a book focusing on defining decisions he's made in his personal and political life, a publishing house announced Thursday.

The book, tentatively titled "Decision Points," is to be published in fall 2010, according to the Crown Publishing Group. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

The book will focus on about 12 important decisions made by the former president. Topics will include his decision to run for president, his choice of his closest advisers, the September 11 terrorist attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, his response to Hurricane Katrina, the forming of his stem cell research policy, his decision to quit drinking, how he found faith and his relationships with his father, mother, siblings and wife.

Full story

Bush and Cheney have struck different tones since exiting the White House.

(CNN) - Their public positions seemed largely in harmony for eight years, but George Bush and Dick Cheney are striking markedly different tones in their initial months away from the White House.

While the former vice president has been highly critical of the new administration - most recently in an interview with CNN's John King - the president has refrained from disparaging his successor, and is mostly ducking the national spotlight altogether.

Watch: Cheney tout Bush administration accomplishments

Tuesday night, in his first appearance of any kind in more than eight weeks, Bush told a friendly audience in Calgary, Alberta it would not be productive to criticize President Obama right now, saying the new commander-in-chief "deserves my silence."

"I'm not going to spend my time criticizing him. There are plenty of critics in the arena," the former president told the audience, according to the Associated Press.

The president also told the invitation-only crowd a policy of isolationism and anti-free trade is not the path out of the current economic turmoil.

"It's the risk-takers, not the government, that is going to pull us out of this recession," the former president said, according to the Calgary Herald. "My message to policy-makrs is don't substitute government for the marketplace. Don't become protectionist. I'm a free-trader to the core."

But overall, the president's demeanor in front of a friendly crowd was described as jovial.

"This is my maiden voyage," he said in his debut address on the speaking circuit. "I can't think of a better place to give it than Calgary, Canada."

Bush's first public appearance comes three days after his former No. 2 appeared on CNN's State of The Union, holding little back in sharply criticizing President Obama's national security polices and declaring the country has been made less safe.

Cheney, who still maintains an office in the outskirts of Washington, DC, has also publicly aired grievances with his former boss - specifically Bush's decision not to issue a pardon to former Cheney aide Scooter Libby.

"I believe firmly that Scooter was unjustly accused and prosecuted and deserved a pardon, and the president disagreed with that," he told CNN Sunday.

Former first lady Barbara Bush had heart surgery Wednesday in Houston, Texas.

(CNN) - Former first lady Barbara Bush underwent heart surgery Wednesday at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN.

Jean Becker, chief of staff for former President George H.W. Bush, said that Barbara Bush, 83, was "fine" following the surgery.

"In fact, she is awake," Becker said.

"We, of course, naively wanted to keep it quiet - Mrs. Bush did," Becker said Wednesday night. "She thought there was too much fuss the last time."

Wednesday's surgery was not related to surgery she had in November for a perforated ulcer.

Her husband is with her in the hospital, where she is expected to remain for seven to 10 days.

"I am very impressed with and grateful to the wonderful team of doctors and nurses at The Methodist Hospital who have helped Barbara," the former president said. "We have every confidence she is in the best hands."

Full story

Former first lady Laura Bush said she and her husband are back to their old routine in Dallas, Texas.

(CNN) –- Just over a month since they left 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for a quiet Dallas neighborhood, former first lady Laura Bush said she and her husband are “back to our old routine.”

In her first post-White House interview, the former first lady told ABC News that she and former President George W. Bush were enjoying coffee together every morning, holding dinner parties with friends, and dealing with the hunt for furniture. “Life is great,” she said.

"We have very little furniture. We don't have a kitchen table or a dining room table," said Bush. "Friends loaned me a kitchen table, and the other night I had 16 people for dinner, and I had to borrow chairs from the Secret Service next door.”

Laura Bush says her husband is meeting the neighbors, making trips to the hardware store, and catching up on some reading via a Kindle. His latest read is a novel given to him for Christmas by former Vice President Dick Cheney.

And while Laura Bush lived and breathed politics for the last eight years, the former first lady said she did not watch President Obama's first address to Congress because she simply forgot.

"I thought it was so ironic that for eight years I would be a nervous wreck before the State of the Union, and for days before, as George would be preparing his speech, worried about it and thinking about what was going to be in the speech," Bush said. “And this time it came and went and I didn't even think about it."

The first lady, an ardent champion of Afghan women's rights while in the White House, also said she was worried that people “will wash their hands of Afghanistan, and I think it'd be a terrible mistake."

Historians have ranked Bush the seventh worst president.

(CNN) – It's been 145 years since he appeared on a ballot, but America's admiration for the man who saved the union and sparked the end of slavery is stronger than ever, according to a new presidential survey.

Abraham Lincoln finished first in a ranking by historians of the 42 former White House occupants released over Presidents Day weekend.

The news wasn't quite as good for the latest addition to the nation's most exclusive fraternity; George W. Bush finished 36th in the survey, narrowly edging out the likes of historical also-rans Millard Fillmore, Warren Harding and Franklin Pierce.

James Buchanan - the man who watched helplessly as the nation lurched toward civil war in the 1850s - finished last.

"As much as is possible, we created a poll that was non-partisan, judicious and fair minded," said Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley, who helped organize the survey of 65 historians for cable television network C-SPAN.

The survey - which asked participants to rank each president on 10 qualities of leadership ranging from public persuasion and economic management to international relations and moral authority - was the network's second since 2000.

The hero of Springfield, Illinois, finished first nine years ago as well.

"It's fitting that for the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln that he remains at the top of these presidential rankings," Brinkley said.

"Lincoln continues to rank at the top in all categories because he is perceived to embody the nation's avowed core values: integrity, moderation, persistence in the pursuit of honorable goals, respect for human rights, compassion," Howard University's Edna Medford added.

Founding father George Washington finished second in the new survey, followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, in that order.

Bill Clinton registered the greatest gain among recent presidents, jumping from 21st to 15th in the survey. Ronald Reagan edged forward from 11th to 10th overall, while George H.W. Bush moved up from 20th to 18th.

The prize for the greatest jump in approval from historians over the last nine years, however, went to a president who has often sat near the bottom of such rankings: Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil War general jumped 10 notches, from 33rd to 23rd.

"Bill Clinton and Ulysses S. Grant aren't often mentioned in the same sentence - until now," historian Richard Norton Smith said. "Participants in the latest (survey) have boosted each man significantly higher than in the original survey conducted in 2000. All of which goes to show two things: the fluidity with which presidential reputations are judged, and the difficulty of assessing any president who has only just recently left office."

Gillespie will serve as general chairman of Bob McDonnell's campaign for governor.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Ed Gillespie, a longtime adviser to George W. Bush, announced Friday he will serve as general chairman of Republican Bob McDonnell’s campaign for governor in Virginia.

McDonnell said in a statement that Gillespie, who ran the Republican National Committee from 2003 to 2005, has “a record of winning tough campaigns and helping to develop and enact policies that make life better for our citizens.”

McDonnell campaign manager Phil Cox said Gillespie “will be involved in every aspect of the campaign, from policy development to strategic decisions to fundraising.”

Gillespie’s ties to Bush extend back to the 2000 campaign, when he served as a senior communications adviser to the then-Texas governor. He went on to serve as RNC chairman during the administration and became a familiar face on Sunday talk shows. Gillespie is a founding party of the Washington lobbying firm Quinn, Gillespie and Associates, but he severed financial ties to the firm after he returned to serve in the White House in 2007. Cox said he is no longer a lobbyist.

Gillespie, a resident of Fairfax County, has also been a player in Virginia politics: He advised George Allen during his failed Senate re-election bid in 2006, and he briefly chaired the Republican Party of Virginia in 2006 and 2007.

Gillespie will likely be one of many prominent Republican leaders to help McDonnell, the commonwealth’s attorney general, as he seeks to win back the governor’s mansion from Democrats this fall. The GOP is itching for a big win after their drubbing in November, and the Virginia race will be a crucial test of President Obama’s political mettle in an off-year.

Bobby Jindal, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson have all campaigned with or raised money for McDonnell, and John McCain is set cross the Potomac to campaign for him next month.

Story updated 12:38 p.m.

Former President Bush and his family departed the Capitol earlier Tuesday for Andrews Air Force Base. (Mike Roselli/CNN)

WASHINGTON (CNN) – On President Bush's final day in office, painters and cleaning crews were still working in the West Wing press offices. Moving crews heaved boxes and delicately carried paintings bound in bubble wrap. Other moving trucks were unloading boxes and carting them into the White House.

George W. Bush spent Tuesday morning making calls. He rang outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

The former president also had a conversation with his good friend the Rev. T.D. Jakes.

Jakes is the chief pastor of the nondenominational megachurch Potter's House in Dallas, Texas. He was in Washington to give a sermon Tuesday at St. John's Church, a short walk from the White House.

Full story

Perino bade farewell to the press this morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - As outgoing Press Secretary Dana Perino handed out presidential M & M’s to the White House press corps Tuesday morning, she said that President Bush went to the Oval Office at 6:50 this morning and spoke by phone to Condoleezza Rice, Andy Card, Stephen Hadley and Minister T.D. Jakes, who is a close friend of the outgoing president, and will be giving the sermon at the St. John’s service this morning.

Perino says the President took a last walk around the South Lawn and spent the rest of the morning with his family.
When asked how the president is feeling, Perino said that this is an emotional day for everyone.

The Bushes are bidding farewell to the White House.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - One night before their son turns the White House over to Barack Obama, a melancholy former President George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife Barbara made an impromptu visit to the press briefing room on Monday and chatted with reporters about how much they will miss the building they have called home on and off for a couple of decades.

"We will miss coming and going, but it's time to move on," said the former President, who has been a frequent visitor during his son's two terms in office. "The Bushes are going to a happy life."

When a reporter suggested perhaps former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will take the White House back someday, the former President smiled, "Maybe Jeb will do something. I'd like to see him try."

The former First Lady said the hardest part of the night is saying good-bye to the White House residence staff a second time in just over a decade. "In tears twice," she said, her eyes still visibly red.

But Mrs. Bush, who appeared to be in good health after a recent stay in the hospital, added that she and her husband are looking forward to attending Obama's inauguration. "Very exciting day," she predicted.

In addition to the Inaugural, the former First Family is attending a final dinner at the White House with current President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and their two daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

As the former First Family left the briefing room, some reporters and photographers spontaneously started clapping out of respect. The ex-President, who was using a long walking stick to get around, quipped, "You didn't clap when I was President, what the hell is going on?"

Tonight the Bushes are eating their final White House dinner.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Bush is sharing his last dinner at the White House residence with his family tonight, according to White House spokesman Dana Perino. The president and the first lady will be joined by his parents, and their daughters Barbara and Jenna.

See some of the iconic moments of the Bush presidency.

Check out CNN's photo gallery.

President Bush says he should have focused on immigration reform instead of Social Security reform.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – There was a candid moment in President Bush's final news conference that was largely overlooked, but should not be completely ignored because it offers a window on why his domestic legacy is looking pretty thin as he readies a farewell address on Thursday evening.

When asked to reflect on his mistakes, Bush made a rare admission. "I believe that running the Social Security idea right after the '04 elections was a mistake," he said. "I should have - should have argued for immigration reform."

Watch President Bush's final press conference

Let's take the Social Security part first, and deal with immigration in a moment.

What the president was really saying is that he - and top aides at the time like Karl Rove - made a major miscalculation immediately after the 2004 re-election, when Bush famously told reporters that he now had a lot of "political capital" to burn and he planned to spend it on a big idea like Social Security reform.

Full story

Pres. Bush will make a prime-time address to the nation on Thursday night.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As George W. Bush spends his final days in office, a new national poll suggests that more than two-thirds of Americans see his presidency as a failure.

Sixty-eight percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation say they feel that Bush's eight years in the White House were a failure, with 44 percent saying this was due to his personal shortcomings and 22 percent blaming the failure on circumstances beyond his control.

Less than a third (31 percent) consider Bush's presidency a success.

Half of those polled say that the United States would be better off today had Al Gore been elected president in 2000 rather than Bush, with 27 percent saying the country would be worse off if the then-Vice President Gore had won.

Twenty-two percent say things would be about the same.

"Due to the Florida recount, Bush had the misfortune of coming into office under controversial circumstances," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

"A lot of Americans apparently remember those circumstances, and now wish things had gone a little differently."

Only 3 percent of those questioned say Bush was one of the greatest presidents in the nation's history.

Nearly half (46 percent) rate him a poor president.

"That's three times higher than the number who gave a failing grade to his father or Ronald Reagan when they left office, and it's 27 points higher than Bill Clinton in 2001," said Holland.

Thirty-one percent approve of Bush's performance in the White House - his final approval rating as president.

"The good news for Bush - that 31 percent figure is seven points higher than it was in November, a typical 'nostalgia bump' that most outgoing presidents get," said Holland. "The bad news is that, except for the rating Richard Nixon had when he resigned, that's the lowest approval rating an outgoing president has received in the six decades of scientific public opinion polling."

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted January 12-15, with 1,245 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for some questions and 4.5 percentage points for others.

Pres. Bush will make a prime-time address to the nation on Thursday night.

The White House has released excerpts of President Bush's farewell address to the nation tonight, as prepared for delivery. The president will reflect on Barack Obama's inauguration, the response to 9/11 - and on "setbacks" he's faced over the past eight years. (Excerpts, as released by the White House, after the jump)

Watch the president's speech on CNN tonight at 8 pm.

On the transfer of power:

Five days from now, the world will witness the vitality of American democracy. 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 enduring 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.

On gratitude:

Tonight I am filled with gratitude. I thank the American people for the trust you have given me. I thank you for the prayers that have lifted my spirits. And I thank you for the countless acts of courage, generosity, and grace that I have witnessed these past eight years.

On the response to 9/11:

This evening, my thoughts return to the first night I addressed you from this house – September 11, 2001. That morning, terrorists took nearly 3,000 lives in the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor.

As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. 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.

Over the past seven years, a new Department of Homeland Security has been created. The military, the intelligence community, and the FBI have been transformed. Our Nation is equipped with new tools to monitor the terrorists’ movements, freeze their finances, and break up their plots. And with strong allies at our side, we have taken the fight to the terrorists and those who support them.

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. This is a tribute to those who toil day and night to keep us safe – law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts, homeland security and diplomatic personnel, and the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

On protecting America through the advance of liberty around the world:

When people live in freedom, they do not willingly choose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror. When people have hope in the future, they will not cede their lives to violence and extremism. So around the world, America is promoting human liberty, human rights, and human dignity. We are standing with dissidents and young democracies, providing AIDS medicine to bring dying patients back to life, and sparing mothers and babies from malaria. And this great republic born alone in liberty is leading the world toward a new age when freedom belongs to all nations.

On the Administration’s accomplishments here at home:

For eight years, we have also strived to expand opportunity and hope here at home. Across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. A new Medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled. Every taxpayer pays lower income taxes. The addicted and suffering are finding new hope through faith-based programs. Vulnerable human life is better protected. Funding for our veterans has nearly doubled. America’s air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner. And the Federal bench includes wise new members like Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.

On principled decision-making:

Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions.

On future challenges facing America:

The decades ahead will bring more hard choices for our country, and there are some guiding principles that should shape our course.

While our Nation is safer than it was seven years ago, the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack. Our enemies are patient, and determined to strike again. America did nothing to seek or deserve this conflict. But we have been given solemn responsibilities, and we must meet them. We must resist complacency. We must keep our resolve. And we must never let down our guard.

At the same time, we must continue to engage the world with confidence and clear purpose. In the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. But we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. Retreating behind our borders would only invite danger. In the 21st century, security and prosperity at home depend on the expansion of liberty abroad. If America does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.

As we address these challenges – and others we cannot foresee tonight – America must maintain our moral clarity. I have often spoken to you about good and evil. This has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise.

On the promise of America:

Even in the toughest times, we lift our eyes to the broad horizon ahead.

I have confidence in the promise of America because I know the character of our people. This is a Nation that inspires immigrants to risk everything for the dream of freedom. This is a Nation where citizens show calm in times of danger and compassion in the face of suffering.

These virtues give me an unshakable faith in America. We have faced danger and trial, and there is more ahead. But with the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great Nation will never tire … never falter … and never fail.

Bush's approval ratings are going up slightly as he leaves office.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new poll gives President Bush a welcome parting gift: a "lame duck" bounce.

A USA Today/Gallup released Wednesday national poll indicates that 34 percent of Americans approve of George W. Bush's job performance as president. That's up 5 points from last month, and represents Bush's highest approval in a USA Today/Gallup survey in a year.

Sixty-one percent of those questioned in the poll disapprove of the job Bush is doing as president, down from 67 percent last month.

"Most presidents get this sort of end-of-term bounce," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

Holland points out that Ronald Reagan's approval rating went up 12 points between the 1988 election and his final approval rating in December of that year. Bush's father had a 34 percent approval rating when he lost the 1992 election to Bill Clinton, but by January of 1993, that figure had grown by 22 points. Clinton's own approval rating rose by 9 points between the 2000 election and the 2001 inauguration.

Bush appears to have members of his own party to thank for his bounce. Three out of four Republicans polled approve of Bush's performance. That 75 percent approval rating among Republicans is up 8 points from last month, and 20 points from his October showing.

"When the party's future was in the hands of John McCain, loyal Republicans probably felt that they had to rally behind McCain but felt free to criticize Bush," Holland noted. "But Republicans are the group that is most likely to feel some nostaglia for the Bush years, and that may be helping his numbers within the GOP."

Twenty-eight percent of independent voters and 6 percent of Democrats approve of Bush's job performance.

The USA Today/Gallup poll was conducted January 9-11, with 1,031 adults questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Bush delivered a speech on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003.

(CNN) – It's a moment President Bush has repeatedly called a mistake: Delivering a speech on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Spring of 2003 with a "Mission Accomplished" banner featured prominently behind him.

But the much-maligned photo-op wasn't the president's fault at all, according to former White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett.

Bartlett, currently a political analyst with CBS, said Tuesday he was the one who actually  gave the final go-ahead of the event.

"Quite frankly, yours truly was the guy who actually signed off," he said Tuesday. "I regret it to this day, because it did send the wrong message."

In his final press conference Monday, Bush immediately cited the moment when asked by a reporter what mistakes he had made over the last eight years.

"Clearly, putting a 'mission accomplished' on an aircraft carrier was a mistake," he said. "We were trying to say something differently but, nevertheless, it conveyed a different message."

Bush has also previously defended the banner as pertaining to the mission of the crew on board the Aircraft carrier, not the Iraqi invasion as a whole.

Still, Bartlett credited Bush Tuesday for not blaming his staff for the misstep.

"[That's] why he endears so much loyalty from people like myself and others who had worked for him," Bartlett said.

President Bush will address the nation Thursday night.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Bush has requested time from the networks Thursday evening to deliver a roughly 15-minute farewell address from the East Room of the White House.

Bush said Monday Republicans must broaden their appeal.

(CNN) - Reflecting on a brutal election cycle that saw his party lose the White House and several seats in Congress, President Bush warned the GOP to avoid instituting an ideological “litmus test.”

"I am concerned that in the wake of the defeat, that the temptation will be to look inward, and to say, 'Well, here is a litmus test you must adhere to," Bush said in his last press conference as president. "This party will come back. But the party's message has got to be that different points of view are included in the party."

The president specifically cited the at-times heated debate over illegal immigration, and said Republicans appeared as if they "don't like immigrants."

"If the image is we don't like immigrants, then there is probably somebody else out there saying, 'Well, if they don't like immigrants, they probably don't like me as well,'" Bush said. "Our party has got to be compassionate and broad-minded."

President Bush is holding his last press conference.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Bush said Monday that a "sustainable cease-fire" in Gaza could only be accomplished when "Hamas stops firing rockets into Israel."

Bush said that the "choice is Hamas's to make." He also stated that the best way to get a sustainable cease-fire is to "work with Egypt to stop the smuggling of arms into... Gaza.

"Countries that supply weapons to Hamas have got to stop," Bush said.

Watch the event on CNN.com/live

Bush's final White House press conference will be held Monday.

(CNN) - The White House announced Monday that President Bush would hold his final White House press conference this morning.

“As we start our final full week here in the White House, President Bush will hold his last press conference at 9:15a.m. in the James Brady Press Briefing Room," spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement sent to reporters.

"The President will make a brief opening statement, commenting on the important role the White House press corps has in covering presidents and the White House, and then will take questions. The President is looking forward to discussing the important events of the last eight years as well as issues in the news today.”

President Bush has made his final flight aboard Air Force One.

(CNN) – President Bush has flown on Air Force One to Washington for the last time.

The President and Mrs. Bush landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 3:20 pm, ending their final flight aboard Air Force One. They returned to Norfolk, Virginia, where the USS George H.W. Bush was commissioned Saturday morning.

Watch an Air Force One inaugural kickoff in Washington

Air Force One, with President Bush still on board, taxied directly into its hangar at the base. The president met privately with workers who are part of the presidential airlift group that handled operations for the planes.

White House spokesperson Dana Perino said President Bush wasn’t aware this was his last flight on Air Force One until he was told by an interviewer.

The next time he’ll be on the plane, it will be as a former president being flown back to Texas after President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office. The plane will have a different designation for that flight, since it is only Air Force One when the sitting president is on board.

President Bush's term ends in less than two weeks.

(CNN) - CNN's Josh Levs reveals the top phrases from President Bush's unique take on the English language.

Check out our favorite 'Bushisms'

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) - Twelve days before he leaves office, President Bush delivered his final policy speech, choosing to focus on his signature education reform law known as "No Child Left Behind."

But as he spoke, television networks – including CNN – carried another address happening simultaneously: President-elect Barack Obama's speech on the ailing US economy.

"At the end of the presidency, you get to do a lot of 'lasts,'” Mr. Bush noted in his remarks at a school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"This is my last policy speech. As President of the United States, this is the last policy address I will give," Bush said.

"What makes it interesting is that it's the same subject of my first policy address as President of the United States, which is education and education reform."

WASHINGTON (CNN) – When President Bush says "Thank you all," at the end of an Oval Office photo-op, that's usually the signal for White House press aides to usher journalists out - and fast.

But during Wednesday's historic gathering of five U.S. presidents - past, present and future - Bush's customary signal didn't have the desired effect. President Bush said “Thank you all” while shaking hands with President-elect Barack Obama, aides demanded the camera lights go off and started herding reporters and technicians towards the door...

But Obama launched into remarks of his own. Video of the event shows the television lights getting turned back on and quickly repositioning as the cameras continued rolling.

The official White House transcript does not reflect Mr. Bush's "Thank you all" at the end of his comments - but those cameras were rolling, and “thank you all” is on the tape. For the record, President-elect Obama ended the Oval Office photo opportunity thanking the President (according to the White House transcript):

“But, again, thank you, Mr. President, for hosting us.”

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) – CNN has been paging Dr. Gupta for years, but now it may the Obama administration who is calling.  In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Jason Carroll talks about our resident neurosurgeon as a possible pick for surgeon general.
 
And: It’s a power lunch like none other. President Bush hosts President-elect Barack Obama, and three former presidents - George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter - Wednesday at the White House. CNN’s Elaine Quijano has the story on what the former chief executives may discuss during their elite and historic meeting in the Oval Office.
 
Plus: Roland Burris insists he is, by law, the junior senator of Illinois, but the recently appointed former state attorney general was turned away from the Senate door Tuesday.  CNN’s Jeanne Moos takes a look at Tuesday’s antics - the “Burris circus.”
 
Finally: Get ready for the “T” word. If Barack Obama’s stimulus plan passes in the Congress, it could approach the trillion dollar mark. That’s more than the government spent on some major events in our nation’s history, including the construction of the atomic bomb, the race to put a man on the moon, and the New Deal during the Great Depression.  But if the stimulus plan doesn’t work, what is Obama’s ‘Plan B’? CNN’s Jim Acosta reports.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

The President and First Lady will attend a welcome home event in Midland, Texas on Inauguration Day.

(CNN) –- The White House said Wednesday President Bush will go directly to Midland, Texas after leaving Washington on Inauguration Day.
 
White House spokesperson Dana Perino said the President and First Lady Laura Bush will leave Andrews Air Force Base, and fly to Midland for a “welcome home event” in Centennial Plaza on the town square. They will fly on one of the jets he used as Air Force One during his presidency, though it will have a different designation that day.
 
Midland was the site of his send-off rally when he left for Washington before taking office in January 2001. The president lived in Midland as he was growing up, and it is the first lady’s hometown.  
 
The President and Mrs. Bush will then fly to Waco, and go to their ranch in Crawford for the first night after leaving the White House.

With two weeks left in office, Pres. Bush announced 45 appointments Tuesday.

(CNN) - President Bush made another round of last-minute appointments Tuesday, giving 45 aides, supporters and others a parting gift as he leaves office: presidential appointments to boards and councils, with terms lasting three to six years after he leaves office.

The full list as released by the White House after the jump includes attorney general Michael Mukasey, deputy national security advisor Elliott Abrams, and Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff.

Full list after the jump

The President intends to appoint Robert D. McCallum, Jr., of Georgia, to be a Member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 09/22/10.

The President intends to appoint Martin Faga, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Public Interest Declassification Board, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 10/03/11.

The President intends to appoint the following to be Members of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, for six-year terms expiring 06/19/14:

Panel of Conciliators:

James C. Boggs, of Virginia;

William Burck, of New York;

Ronald A. Cass, of Virginia;

Emmet Flood, of Maryland.

Panel of Arbitrators:

Fred F. Fielding, of Virginia;

Daniel M. Price, of Maryland.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Valles Caldera Trust:

Raymond Loretto, of New Mexico, (State or Local Government Representative in New Mexico), for a four-year term beginning 01/17/09;

Virgil Trujillo, of New Mexico, (Livestock Management Representative), for a four-year term beginning 01/17/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, for the remainder of two-year terms expiring 05/03/10:

David Allen Josserand, of Florida, and upon appointment designate Chairman;

Kirk M. Bauer, of Maryland, and upon appointment designate Vice Chairman;

Steven Bornstein, of California;

Susan Lieberman Dell, of Texas;

Allyson Felix,of California;

Susan Finn, of Ohio;

Diego Gutierrez, of Illinois;

James W. Holsinger, of Kentucky;

Michelle Kwan, of California;

Robert A. Labonte, of North Carolina;

Edward R. Laskowski, of Minnesota;

Elisha Nelson Manning, of Louisiana;

David W. Marsh, of Alabama;

Leslie E. Miles, of Louisiana;

Omar Minaya, of New Jersey;

Richard F. Phelps, of Indiana;

Ruth Riley, of Florida;

Jason Sehorn, of California.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council:

Elliot Abrams, of Virginia, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Joshua B. Bolten, of the District of Columbia, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Alan I. Casden, of California, for the remainder of a five-year term expiring 01/15/11;

Michael Chertoff, of New Jersey, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

William Danhof, of Michigan, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Sanford Gottesman, of Texas, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Cheryl Feldman Halpern, of New Jersey, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09,;

J. David Heller, of Ohio, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Amy Kaslow, of Maryland, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

M. Ronald Krongold, of Florida, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Michael B. Mukasey, of New York, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09;

Daniel Silva, of the District of Columbia, for a five-year term beginning 01/16/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 12/31/11:

Sally K. Mason, of New Jersey;

Robert Y. Moore, of Pennsylvania;

Henry Yang, of California.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, for the remainder of four-year terms expiring 12/03/12:

Nancy Ann Starnes, of Virginia, (Individual with a Disability);

Hans A. Van Winkle, of Texas.

The President intends to designate Lynne A. Osmus, of Virginia, to be Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, to become effective January 16, 2009.

The President intends to designate Susan E. Dudley, of Virginia, to be Acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget.

# # #

Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton will meet with Barack Obama and President Bush for a private gathering in the Oval Office.

(CNN) –- Talk about a power lunch. President Bush, President-elect Barack Obama and three living former presidents will meet in the Oval Office for a private gathering on Wednesday afternoon.

Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton will join Obama and Bush at the White House for lunch. Obama initially came up with the idea that all of the men get together after meeting with President Bush last month.

White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino said the current and former leaders will gather for a photo op in the Rose Garden, but that their conversation and meal will be private. She said she doesn’t know what they will talk about, but she said she’d love to be able to hear it.

“I'm sure all of us would love to be flies on the wall and listening to that conversation,” Perino said during Tuesday’s daily press briefing. “These are leaders who only understand what it's like to be in each others shoes and none of us can put ourselves in those shoes.”

Perino speculated that they will discuss what it’s like to raise children in the White House and how to protect them. She praised the Obamas for doing a good job with that so far and said they got their daughters to their first day of school on Monday “in good fashion.”

Perino said the last time all of the living presidents got together was in 1981, and called Wednesday’s meeting a “historic moment.”

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) –- Barack Obama meets with congressional leaders Monday to discuss his stimulus proposal. In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, CNN’s Kate Bolduan has the latest details on Obama’s $300 billion tax cut proposal.

And: The soon-to-be First Daughters spent their first day at their new school in Washington, the prestigious Sidwell Friends school. CNN’s Joe Johns takes a look at what makes this school an especially good fit for the First family.

Finally: Hamas is launching rockets into Israel, and Israeli forces are driving deeper into Gaza. The showdown in the Middle East is heating up, and President Bush has placed the blame on Hamas. So why has President-elect Obama remained silent about the violence? CNN’s Jim Acosta takes a look at why the next commander-in-chief is keeping mum.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

Rove bested Bush’s book total for a third straight year.

(CNN) - He wasn’t on the ballot this year, but President Bush still lost – to Karl Rove.

For the third consecutive year, Rove has bested Bush in their annual reading contest, the former presidential advisor writes in today’s Wall Street Journal.

The president's reading list this year was weighted towards historical chronicles of conflict, from David Halberstam's "The Coldest Winter" and Rick Atkinson's "Day of Battle" to Stephen W. Sears's "Gettysburg" and James M. McPherson's "Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief."

It also included President Grant's "Personal Memoirs," Jon Meacham's "American Lion," James M. McPherson's "Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief" and Jacobo Timerman's "Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number."

The contest began when Rove made a New Year’s resolution to finish a book a week in 2006. “The competition soon spun out of control. We kept track not just of books read, but also the number of pages and later the combined size of each book's pages - its ‘Total Lateral Area,’” writes Rove.

“At year's end, I defeated the president, 110 books to 95. My trophy looks suspiciously like those given out at junior bowling finals. The president lamely insisted he'd lost because he'd been busy as Leader of the Free World.”

That year’s contest drew headlines over the lengthy list of Bush's books, which reportedly Andrew Roberts’s "History of the English Speaking Peoples Since 1900," Nathaniel Philbrick’s "Mayflower," and Albert Camus’s "The Stranger," according to Rove.

Bush’s total has dropped each year, says his former advisor: from 95 books in 2006, to 51 in 2007, to just 40 in 2008, with less than a week to go until the end of the year.

Three-fourths of those polled are glad to see Bush's presidency end.

(CNN) - As President George W. Bush gets ready to leave the White House in three-and-a-half weeks, and a new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans feel his departure is coming not a moment too soon.

Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they're glad President Bush is going, with 23 percent indicating they'll miss him.

"Earlier this year, Bush scored some of the lowest presidential approval ratings we've seen in half a century, so it's understandable that the public is eager for a new president to step in," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The three-quarters of Americans surveyed who say they won't miss Bush is 24 points higher than the 51 percent who said they wouldn't miss Bill Clinton when he left office in January 2001. Forty-five percent of those questioned at that time said they would miss Clinton.

"As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: Good riddance. At least that's the way three-quarters feel," says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

The poll indicates that Bush has been compared poorly to his predecessors, with 28 percent saying that he's the worst ever when compared to other presidents in American history. Forty percent rate Bush as poor and 31 percent feel he's been a good president.

Only a third of those polled want Bush to remain active in public life after he leaves the White House, with two-thirds saying they don't want him to stay active in a public way. That 33 percent figure who want Bush to remain in the public eye is 22 points lower than those questioned in 2001 who wanted Bill Clinton to retain a public role.

"Bush has dropped on a number of measures but possibly the biggest is that only one in five say he inspires confidence. That's an important figure when the country is facing its biggest economic crisis in a generation," says Holland.

When running for the White House in the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush promised to be a uniter, not a divider.

But the poll suggests that 82 percent feel that Bush did not unite the country, with 17 percent saying he did.

"The vast majority of Americans believed he betrayed his promise to unite the country," says Schneider. "He took a country that was divided under President Clinton and he divided it worse."

Only 27 percent of those questioned in the poll approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, with 72 percent in disapproval. Bush's job approval rating has been at or below freezing since the beginning of the year, says Schneider - one of the lowest ratings for any president, ever.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted December 19-21, with 1,013 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Bush (above, leaving for his last Christmas at Camp David) is re-examining clemency for Isaac Toussie.

President Bush ordered one of 19 presidential pardons issued this week to be re-examined. CNN's Elaine Quijano reports.

Bush announced new appointments for two dozen aides and supporters Christmas Eve.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Christmas came a few hours early for two dozen White House officials and supporters Wednesday, who were appointed to three- to six-year positions on government committees and councils.

The full list released by the White House – which includes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Karl Rove deputy Israel Hernandez – after the jump.

--

Personnel Announcement

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to appoint 24 individuals to serve in his Administration.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, for terms of four years:

–Carol Ann Bartz, of California;

–Maria Cino, of Virginia;

–Israel Hernandez, of Texas.

The President intends to appoint Jennifer E. Sims, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Public Interest Declassification Board for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 10/03/11.

The President intends to appoint Mark Sanford, of South Carolina, (Governor), to be a Member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, for the remainder of a four-year term expiring 06/10/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee:

–Kevin R. Johnson, of Washington;

–Kay Sears, of Virginia.

The President intends to appoint John M. Hart, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Capital Planning Commission, for a six-year term beginning 01/02/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Commissioners of the United States Section of the United States-Russia Polar Bear Commission, for an initial term of four years:

–Geoffrey L. Haskett, of Alaska, (Federal Representative);

–Charles J. Johnson, of Alaska, (Alaska Representative).

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, for six-year terms expiring 10/23/14:

–Sander R. Gerber, of New York, to be Vice Chair;

–Charles E. Cobb, of Florida, (Public);

–Carlos M. Gutierrez, of Michigan;

–Barry Jackson, of Ohio.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, for five-year terms expiring 01/10/14:

–Barbara Bruin, of New Mexico;

–Mark A. Carter, of West Virginia;

–Grace Flores Hughes, of Virginia.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts:

–Nancy Goodman Brinker, of Florida, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 09/01/14;

–Condoleezza Rice, of California, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 09/01/14;

–Leonard Sands, of California, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 09/01/13.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board:

–Jean Loretta Becker, of Texas, for a three-year term expiring 09/22/11;

–Gary R. Edson, of Illinois, for a three-year term 09/22/11;

–Anita B. McBride, of Connecticut, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 09/22/11;

–James L. Oblinger, of North Carolina, for a three-year term expiring 09/22/11.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Christmas came a few hours early for two dozen White House officials and supporters Wednesday, who were appointed to three- to six-year positions on government committees and councils.

The full list released by the White House – which includes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Karl Rove deputy Israel Hernandez – after the jump.

--

Personnel Announcement

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to appoint 24 individuals to serve in his Administration.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, for terms of four years:

Carol Ann Bartz, of California;

Maria Cino, of Virginia;

Israel Hernandez, of Texas.

The President intends to appoint Jennifer E. Sims, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Public Interest Declassification Board for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 10/03/11.

The President intends to appoint Mark Sanford, of South Carolina, (Governor), to be a Member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, for the remainder of a four-year term expiring 06/10/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee:

Kevin R. Johnson, of Washington;

Kay Sears, of Virginia.

The President intends to appoint John M. Hart, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Capital Planning Commission, for a six-year term beginning 01/02/09.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Commissioners of the United States Section of the United States-Russia Polar Bear Commission, for an initial term of four years:

Geoffrey L. Haskett, of Alaska, (Federal Representative);

Charles J. Johnson, of Alaska, (Alaska Representative).

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, for six-year terms expiring 10/23/14:

Sander R. Gerber, of New York, to be Vice Chair;

Charles E. Cobb, of Florida, (Public);

Carlos M. Gutierrez, of Michigan;

Barry Jackson, of Ohio.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, for five-year terms expiring 01/10/14:

Barbara Bruin, of New Mexico;

Mark A. Carter, of West Virginia;

Grace Flores Hughes, of Virginia.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts:

Nancy Goodman Brinker, of Florida, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 09/01/14;

Condoleezza Rice, of California, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 09/01/14;

Leonard Sands, of California, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 09/01/13.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board:

Jean Loretta Becker, of Texas, for a three-year term expiring 09/22/11;

Gary R. Edson, of Illinois, for a three-year term 09/22/11;

Anita B. McBride, of Connecticut, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 09/22/11;

James L. Oblinger, of North Carolina, for a three-year term expiring 09/22/11.

Earlier this week, Bush ordered 19 presidential pardons.

(CNN) – President George W. Bush on Wednesday ordered one of 19 presidential pardons announced earlier in the week to be re-examined before a final decision on clemency is made.

The pardon was to go to Isaac R. Toussie, 36, who had been convicted of mail fraud and issuing false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

According to a senior administration official, the White House learned new information about Toussie's case Tuesday night - only hours after announcing his pardon.

Specifically, the White House learned, according to the official, "additional information about the nature of fraud (Toussie) carried out." The White House also learned that Toussie's father had made numerous contributions to leading Republican politicians.

In 2008, Toussie's father donated almost $40,000 to Arizona Sen. John McCain, Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, and Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor.

"Based on information that has subsequently come to light, the president has directed the (Justice Department's) pardon attorney not to execute and deliver a grant of clemency to Mr. Toussie," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a written statement.

"The pardon attorney has not provided a recommendation on Mr. Toussie's case because it was filed less than five years from completion of his sentence. The president believes that the pardon attorney should have an opportunity to review this case before a decision on clemency is made."

Under Justice Department guidelines, an application for a presidential pardon will not be considered by the department's pardon attorney until a convict has been out of prison for five years.

Toussie was sentenced in September 2003 to a five-month prison sentence, as well as three years of supervised release.

CNN's attempts to reach Toussie's lawyers have been unsuccessful.

Full story

(updated 5:15 p.m. with additional information)

Bush and his family are spending their last Christmas at Camp David.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – This Christmas is the last at Camp David for President George Bush and his wife Laura. The president and his family will celebrate their twelfth Christmas at the presidential retreat - four when his father George H.W. Bush was president and eight during his own two terms as president.

President Bush’s entire family, including his father and mother, will sit down Thursday night to a Christmas eve dinner that will reflect Bush’s Texas roots. The menu features enchiladas, tamales, rice and beans, and guacamole.

(The first family's full, traditional Christmas day lunch menu after the jump.)

Roast Turkey and Cornbread Dressing

Green Beans

Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Spinach Salad

Giblet Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Bush released a Christmas message Tuesday.

The White House released a Christmas statement from President Bush Tuesday. Full statement follows:
–

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release December 23, 2008

Christmas 2008

"'I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"

Luke 2:10-12

"Each year, Christmas brings together families, friends, and communities to rejoice in the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrate the wonderful gifts God has bestowed upon us. During this season, we remember Jesus' birth from the Virgin Mary, His justice and mercy that changed the world, and His ultimate sacrifice for all people. Though Jesus was born humbly in a manger, He was destined to be the Savior of the world. The light He brought into the world continues to break through darkness and change people's lives two thousand years later.

"This holiday season, as you rejoice in the good news of Jesus' love, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace, I encourage you to show grace to those less fortunate, just as God showed it to us. By serving those in need and through other acts of love and compassion, we can honor God's goodness and affirm the immeasurable value God places on the sanctity of life. We remember the members of our Armed Forces serving to protect our country and secure God's gift of freedom for others around the globe. All Americans are indebted to these men and women and their families for their sacrifice, devotion to duty, and patriotism.

"Laura and I send our best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. May you be surrounded by loved ones and blessed by the Author of Life during this joyous holiday and throughout the New Year."

GEORGE W. BUSH

Presidential pardon lists are being closely monitored in the final weeks of the Bush administration.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Bush Tuesday granted pardons to 19 citizens, none of them prominent, charged with a variety of crimes.

Presidential pardon lists are being closely monitored in the final weeks of the Bush administration, to see whether former Vice Presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby will be granted the presidential favor.

One of the men pardoned is Charles Winters, who died nearly 25 years ago. His son had worked on winning a presidential pardon for his dad who had helped smuggle weapons to Jews fighting in what was then Palestine in the late 1940's. A protestant from Boston, Winters spent 18 months behind bars - the only U.S. citizen to serve time for helping fly weapons to Jews struggling to create Israel.

A 20th person received a commutation of a life sentence for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. That individual, Reed Raymond Prior, was ordered released from prison in February 2009. He will have served more than 12 years.

President Bush has granted 191 pardons and nine commutations, far fewer than Presidents Clinton and Reagan in their two-term administrations.

Hillary Clinton's salary will drop to pre-2007 amount.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Bush cleared the way Friday for Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state, signing a law that removes a potential constitutional barrier for the New York senator’s nomination by reducing her prospective pay as the nation’s top diplomat.

Congress voted in 2007 to raise the secretary of state’s salary by $4700. That move meant Clinton’s nomination was in conflict with Article I, section 6 of the Constitution, which prohibits members of Congress from raising the salary for a government job, then leaving the Capitol to fill the position themselves.

If she is confirmed, Clinton’s new salary will be $186,600 – less than the $191,300 now earned by current secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, but more than her current Senate salary of $169,300.

Bush announced an auto bailout plan Friday morning.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - President Bush announced a rescue plan for General Motors and Chrysler LLC Friday morning that will make $13.4 billion in federal loans available almost immediately.

A senior administration official briefing reporters said he expects that GM and Chrysler LLC will be signing the loan papers to access the cash later Friday morning.

The money will come from the $700 billion fund set aside to bailout Wall Street firms and banks in October.

With these loans, Treasury will have committed virtually all of the $350 billion of that fund that it can hand out without additional authorization from Congress. Once Congress releases the other $350 billion, the two automakers will be able to borrow an additional $4 billion.

Full story

Sympathizers of Iraqi TV reporter Muntadhar al-Zaidi hold their shoes in the air while participating in a support rally.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) – The journalist who hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush has described his attack as "ugly" and asked the Iraqi government for leniency.

A government spokesman confirmed Thursday that Muntadhar al-Zaidi penned a contrite handwritten letter to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki requesting compassionate treatment.

Yaseen al-Majeed, the prime minister's media adviser and spokesman, read CNN part of the letter, saying al-Zaidi describes what he did as "the great ugly act I perpetrated" and says an excuse would not be enough for that.

Al-Zaidi said he recalled interviewing al-Maliki in 2005, and al-Maliki had said to him "come in, this is your home, too."

Al-Majeed told CNN al-Zaidi asked al-Maliki for that same "fatherly compassion." The letter was received on Thursday but it was written at another time, al-Majeed said.

Asked if al-Maliki would consider exonerating him, al-Majeed said it is too early to talk about that because the case remains with the judicial authorities.

Full story

Pres. Bush signed an agreement with the Iraqi government in Baghdad Sunday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - As President Bush prepares to leave office and looks back over his tenure, he Tuesday continued to stand firmly by his decision to go to war in Iraq, calling the decision to send troops into harm's way the most important one he made he has made in the Oval Office.

"I listened to a lot of people before we went into Iraq. And I listened to a lot of people, including in my own administration, who said, 'it's just not working. Let's get out.' And I listened very carefully to them. And obviously, came to a different conclusion," President Bush told CNN's Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley during a tour of the Oval Office.

While he did not want to revisit his decision to go to war, Bush he was ultimately concerned about "whether or not we would succeed."

"I have worried about it in the past, in 2006 in particular. In Iraq, I was deeply concerned about whether or not we would succeed," he said. "A lot of people in Washington, were saying, let's get out now. And I obviously chose not to do that. But, that was a very difficult period," he said.

The president said he "considered all options" when it came to Iraq and contemplated leaving but said, "I could not live with myself, if I had chosen to just leave and leave behind the valor and the sacrifice of a lot of our young men and women. I would have never been able to face their loved ones."

Returning to Texas

Bush and first lady Laura Bush will head to Dallas after they leave Washington to live in home the president has yet to see firsthand. He plans to open up an institute at Southern Methodist University and will write a book he hopes will present a fuller picture of his presidency than perhaps some of his critics have portrayed.

"I would like to share my experiences, and I think it's going to be important for people to remember what the actual history of my presidency was all about. History tends to shift very rapidly people forget what the environment in which the decisions were made," he said.

Crowley, who started covering the president when he was Texas governor in 1998, asked whether he was still the same person he was back then.

"I didn't change my basic values," Bush said. "I loved my wife then. I love her now. I realize my most important job was to be a loving father, and it is still my most important job. I believed in an almighty then my belief has been strengthened. You've got to say I'm a little wiser. My knowledge of the world is more profound."

Looking forward to a historic moment

Even though his days in office are winding down, the president said he is "not sitting around doing nothing," especially with the transition to President-elect Barack Obama's administration underway.

Bush said he hopes Obama, who will become the nation's first African-American president, is pleased with his administration's efforts.

"We care about him. We want him to be successful, and we want the transition to work," Bush said.

Looking ahead to inauguration, Bush said he is thrilled to "have a front row seat in an unbelievable moment in American history. And I was deeply touched by a lot of people I saw on election night with tears streaming down their face and saying, 'I never, ever thought I would see this day coming.'"

Bush said his "faith in Democracy" made him sure that someday an African American would hold the office he has occupied for eight years, and he is certain more changes will come.

"I believe there will be a woman president," he said. "I am amazed to have watched, you know, Barack Obama come from basic, relative obscurity to now be the - soon to be the president of the United States. And he gives a lot of people hope. And that's good for the country."