Calgary, Alberta – Former President George W. Bush , making his first public speech since leaving office in January, says he wants Barack Obama to succeed and that it's "essential" to support the new leader.I await Limbaugh's announcement that Bush is not a real conservative (which would be true, but for other reasons).
Bush declined to critique the Obama administration in Tuesday's speech, saying the new president has enough critics and that he "deserves my silence."
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has said that Obama's decisions threatened America's safety. Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has said he hoped Obama would fail.
"I love my country a lot more than I love politics," Bush said. "I think it is essential that he be helped in office."
Not everyone in Canada was thrilled:
The invitation-only event titled a "Conversation with George W. Bush " attracted close to 2,000 guests who paid $3,100 per table. Bush received two standing ovations from the predominantly business crowd.I nominate Mr. Bush to be the spokesman for Ugly Americans everywhere.
About 200 protested outside the event; four of them were arrested. Some protesters threw shoes at an effigy of Bush, a reference to the Iraqi journalist who tossed his shoes at the former president during a December news conference in Baghdad.
"He shouldn't be able to go anywhere in the world and just present himself as a private citizen," protest organizer Peggy Askin said. "We do not have any use for bringing war criminals into this country. It's an affront."
While Bush is unpopular in Canada, he is less so in oil-rich Alberta, the country's most conservative province and one sometimes called the Texas of the north.
"This is my maiden voyage. My first speech since I was the president of the United States and I couldn't think of a better place to give it than Calgary, [Alberta]", Bush said.
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