Bush's Messiah Complex

"I would think that -- first of all, I don't believe there's such a thing as an accurate short-term history. I'm still -- I read a lot of history these days. I like to read a lot about Abraham Lincoln, for example. And if they're still analyzing the 16th -- the history of the 16th President, see, then I -- the 43rd guy just doesn't need to worry about it. I'll be long gone. (Laughter.) But I do believe that --"

Q. "Isn't that kind of sad, that you won't be appreciated enough until after you're --"

Bush: "No, what really matters in life is do you have a set of principles, and are you willing to live your life based upon those principles. That's what matters most to me. My priorities are really my faith and my family. And we're blessed with a lot of friends. I just don't -- I'm not the kind of person that -- I don't spend a lot of time looking in the mirror, I guess is the best way to say it. But I do believe that -- I can predict that the historians will say that George W. Bush recognized the threats of the 21st century, clearly defined them, and had great faith in the capacity of liberty to transform hopelessness to hope, and laid the foundation for peace by making some awfully difficult decisions."

Bush also tells Levi: "I didn't compromise my beliefs in order to be the popular guy, or the hip guy, or the guy that every -- you know, the cultural elite likes."

Here's Bush telling Nahum Barnea and Shimon Shiffer of Yediot Ahronot how he'd like to be remembered in world history:

"I would hope that people, when they look back at this administration, would say that President Bush and his administration worked diligently to protect the American people from harm; that he recognized the threats of the 21st century; that he acted in a -- when he needed to be tough, he acted strong, and when he needed to have vision he understood the power of freedom to be transformative.

"Our foreign policy is more than just confronting terrorists. Our foreign policy is to confront the conditions that enable these ideologues to recruit, such as HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa, or feeding the hungry, or dealing with malaria. Our foreign policy is based upon our great trust in the capacity of the common person to dictate a peaceful course for government. But just so you know, I fully understand, I'll be long gone before the accurate history of this administration is reflected in the history books."

The Trip to the Middle East

Bush's trip to the Middle East may end up being more about Iran than about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process -- although Bush may have even less credibility in the region on the former issue than on the latter.

Bush talks a lot about Iran, but when it comes to action, removing Saddam Hussein from power may be the greatest gift he could have given Iran's leaders. And a recent National Intelligence Estimate left even his supporters confused. Among other things, it exposed Bush as having knowingly exaggerated the threat of Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Michael Abramowitz and Ellen Knickmeyer write in The Washington Post: "President Bush intends to use his first extended tour of the Middle East to rally support for international pressure against Iran, even as a recent U.S. intelligence report playing down Tehran's nuclear ambitions has left Israeli and Arab leaders rethinking their own approach toward Iran and questioning Washington's resolve, according to senior U.S. officials, diplomats and regional experts.

"Bush is to leave Tuesday for Israel, where he hopes to jump-start the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations he launched in Annapolis late last year. But in Jerusalem and some of the Arab countries Bush plans to visit, Iran's growing regional influence looms larger than the peace process or the Iraq war. Leaders in the region are gauging whether the lame-duck administration has the interest and ability to cope with Iran, or whether they should pursue their own military and diplomatic solutions. . . .

"Administration officials have been alarmed by what they see as Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon and intimidate its Sunni neighbors. But their efforts to build support for sanctions and other pressure on Tehran took a serious hit last month when a National Intelligence Estimate -- representing the shared view of U.S. intelligence agencies -- concluded that Iran halted its nuclear arms program in 2003.