President Bush Speaks on Obama and Regrets

"So, we had a very private conversation," Bush said on CNN this afternoon. "It was relaxed. It was interesting to watch a person who is getting ready to assume the office of the president. This will be a fantastic experience for he and his family. 

"He didn't need my advice about supporting the military. He knows he must do that," the president added. "And we had a good conversation. I was very pleased. And I remember the conversation I had with my predecessor, Bill Clinton. As a matter of fact, I called him yesterday. And, you know, I said, Bill, I'm getting ready to meet with the new president, and I remember how gracious you were to me and I hope I can be as gracious to President-elect Obama as you were to me.

"And so President-elect Obama has a great opportunity. And I really do wish him all the best. I mean, I am just as American as he is American. And it is good for our country that the president succeeds. And so the transition that we're working with him on is a genuine effort to help him be able to deal with the pressures and the complicated issues of the presidency."

Bush did say he had some regrets about his presidency, including "saying some things I shouldn't have said."

Asked for an example, the president said, "Like, dead or alive, bring them on," which he said about the insurgents in Iraq. 

"I was trying to convey a message. I probably could have conveyed it more artfully," said Bush, who was interviewed aboard the USS Intrepid docked in New York for a Veterans Day observance. 

"Being on this ship reminds me of when I went to the USS Abraham Lincoln and they had a sign that said 'Mission Accomplished.' I regret that that sign was there," Bush added. "It was a sign aimed at the sailors on that ship. However, it conveyed a broader knowledge. To some it said, well, Bush thinks the war in Iraq is over, when I didn't think that. But nevertheless it conveyed the wrong message. So there are things I've regretted."