16 Jan 2009

Bush defends troubled record in farewell address

President George W. Bush on Thursday defended his actions to avert a collapse of the financial system and protect America from another terrorist attack as he mounted a farewell bid to polish his troubled legacy.

Five days before handing over the presidency to Barack Obama, Bush delivered a televised final address to the American people in which he sought to define a White House record that some historians are already ranking among the worst ever.

But even as he focused on what he saw as his successes, Bush was preparing to leave Obama with unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bitter conflict in Gaza, a U.S. economy deep in recession and a U.S. image badly tarnished overseas.   Reuters

President Bush Makes Farewell Address to the Nation - www.whitehouse.gov