George W. Bush: 'Happy to be out of the limelight'

Judy Keen, USA TODAY | USATODAY

George W. Bush just became a grandfather, has a new interest in painting that became public when a computer hacker revealed some of his work, and managed to keep his November back surgery secret until this month.

The former president, 66, is leading a mostly subterranean life and that's just fine with him. "I'm happy to be out of the limelight. I truly am," he said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Bush will pop into public view this week when he presides over the dedication Thursday of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

Then he'll step back into his mostly private post-presidency. He lives in Dallas, makes money giving speeches about life inside the White House and is deeply involved in the George W. Bush Institute, which focuses on advancing freedom. Next month, he'll host his third annual 100-kilometer, three-day mountain bike ride with wounded war veterans, this time at his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

"My life is obviously much simpler than it was in the past, but in many ways the simplicity creates contentment," he says.

One of his closest friends, Don Evans, who served as Commerce secretary, says Bush is "immersed" in golf and his new painting hobby and is "fired up" about being a first-time grandfather.

"He feels totally at peace" with decisions he made during his presidency, Evans says, and believes leaders must pursue policies based on the nation's "long-term interests ... not what's popular today."

Some Bush policies, particularly the Iraq War, remain points of contention. Peace activists who plan a protest during the Bush Center's dedication sued the city of Dallas last week. It argues that an ordinance barring people from carrying signs near certain highways is unconstitutional because it limits free speech.

Karl Rove, Bush's chief campaign strategist and a former deputy White House chief of staff, says every president "understands that there are things that they might look back on and do differently," but Bush "has an inner confidence ... that what he did was right."

Bush's younger brother Marvin, managing partner of an Arlington, Va., investment company, says the former president "came out of office fundamentally the same person" he was before his election. "He's still a bundle of energy," Marvin Bush says, and "like my parents he's an extremely loyal guy, very disciplined, respectful of other people."

It was "grueling" during Bush's White House tenure for family members to read "highly critical" coverage of his policies, Marvin Bush says. "It wears you down over a period of time," he says.

George W. Bush keeps in touch with relatives via e-mail, his brother says, and "he's very much about picking up the phone and checking in."

Bush's latest passion — painting — might seem a little out of character for a man known for his athleticism and competitive nature. "I'm as surprised as everybody else is," he says.

It began, he explains, after he read Winston Churchill's essay Painting as a Pastime and checking out some of the late British prime minister's own paintings. Bush works with an instructor and paints mostly still lifes, pets and landscapes. When his e-mail account was hacked in March, G-rated self-portraits in a shower and bathtub "created quite a kerfluffle," he says with a laugh. He has no plans for a public exhibit.

Painting has "broadened my horizons. I look at colors differently. There's a discipline required in painting that I like," he says. "It's mellowing, and there's nothing wrong, particularly for a Type A personality, to mellow out."

Rove says his former boss "remains a big consumer of information, no matter how early in the day."

Bush says he doesn't watch much TV but reads "a lot of the news and some of the gossip." He talks politics with Rove and foreign policy with Condoleezza Rice, his former secretary of State, and Steve Hadley, his former national security adviser, he says.

After this week's events, Bush says, he's ready to pivot away from the spotlight again. He and Laura enjoy living in Dallas. He's "thrilled that baseball season is here," he says. "I think part of having a fulfilling life is to be challenged. I'm challenged on the golf course, I'm challenged to stay fit, and I'm challenged by my paintings."

"I am happy," he says.