George W. Bush: 'No Need to Defend Myself'

George W. Bush thinks that history is in the only judge of his presidency that matters. (Photo: Reuters)
Ahead of the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center later this week on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the controversial former president says that the library and museum dedicated to his two terms in office will be a place "to lay out facts" but not—as USA Today phrased it—a place that will seek to "explain" or "defend" his policies.

"There's no need to defend myself," Bush said in a phone interview with the newspaper. "I did what I did and ultimately history will judge."

Though the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that initiated under Bush still linger for millions of people, the former president describes how he is enjoying his new painting hobby and his life outside the "limelight". Recent estimates of the financial cost of the two wars are now between $4 and $6 trillion.

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