Bush to go underground following his book's promotion - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Former US President George W Bush, who emerged from self-imposed exile last week for the publicity of his memoir, has claimed that he would sneak 'underground' following the promotion of his book. "After selling this book, I'm heading back underground," the 43rd president told NBC's Matt Lauer while promoting his memoir, "Decision Points." He was direct this week in describing his memoir as aimed at that evaluation. Historians will judge his decisions. He won't be around to see it, he wrote. The book would make his case for him, perhaps once and for all. "I have no desire to debate. My debating days are over," Los Angeles Times quoted Bush, as saying. In the two years since leaving office, his public appearances have been rare, his media interviews rarer, and his work life steady but far from the political fray. Bush and his aides have reportedly claimed that after the promotion, he would continue with this lifestyle. Dana Perino, Bush's former press secretary, said: "He gave his all to public service when he was governor and president. Now he is in a new chapter in his life." Bush's new life style seems to be dictated by personal disposition and political reality. He left office with a 34 percent approval rating, among the lowest for any modern President. Both political parties were eager to turn the page on a tumultuous tenure marked by two wars, Hurricane Katrina and a near financial collapse. When the president promised to leave the national stage in 2008, few argued. According to his former aides, Bush'd decision to quit matched his temperament, as he rarely demonstrated the zeal for politics that has helped make former President Bill Clinton his party's most popular campaign surrogate. For many, life after leadership was primarily a true retirement, interrupted occasionally by diplomatic requests from sitting presidents. Although Bush may be promising to stay out of the limelight, he is not rejecting pursuing similar opportunities, the paper said.