Bush will elaborate on what he sees as his administration's accomplishments in his Thursday address, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST. "This is not going to be a swan song," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said. "He will not be looking to refight old battles."
As he prepares to leave office, Bush offered his own reaction to the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first African American president.
"Look, I was affected by the TV after the elections -- when I saw people saying, 'I never thought I would see the day that a black person would be elected president,' " Bush said. "I consider myself fortunate to have a front-row seat on what is going to be an historic moment for the country."
Yet he also warned his successor: "There is an enemy that still is out there. I'm telling you, there's an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again."
Bush's public standing today leaves him little room for a political presence. He plans to retire to his ranch near Crawford, Texas, and to his new home in Dallas. The George W. Bush Presidential Library is to be at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
"When I get out of here, I'm getting off the stage," Bush said.
At the same time, the athletic 62-year-old who quit drinking after his 40th birthday and embraced jogging and later mountain-biking, suggested his "type-A personality" will prevent him from disappearing altogether.
"I just can't envision myself, you know, the big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt sitting on some beach," said Bush, pausing and adding with an audible aside: "Particularly since I quit drinking."
Suggesting that he had never been able to escape the presidency -- not when on vacation at his ranch and not when mountain biking -- Bush made this prediction about retirement:
"I wake up in Crawford on . . . Wednesday morning, and I suspect I'll make Laura coffee."
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mdsilva@tribune.com
Peter Wallsten and Tom Hamburger of the Washington Bureau contributed to this report.
