Read other letters about this article
Direct quotes from the linked video:
(in a helicopter) "The White House is really neat..."
...
(on the economy:) "When the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over, y'know, a decade or so -- before I arrived as president, during I arrived as president."
"I'm sorry it's happening, of course, obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs or being worried about their 401-K's. On the other hand the American people gotta know that, uh, we will safeguard the system, I mean, we're in, and if we need to be in more, we will." [???]
"When you have the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Fed, say 'If we don't act boldly, we could be in a depression greater than the Great Depression,' that's an 'uh-oh' moment. But the question is, Is it worth it to save the system, to safeguard the system? And I came to the conclusion, along with other smart people, that it is."
...
"Yeah, I've been around politics a long time. Now remember, I was the guy in 2000 who campaigned for change. I campaigned for change when I ran for Governor of Texas. The only time I really didn't campaign for change is when I was running for re-election."
...
"Well, I think I was unprepared for war. In other words I didn't campaign and said, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle a, uh, an attack.' In other words I didn't anticipate war. Presidents... One of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen."
...
(on being joyful) "Oh yeah. I don't want people to misconstrue, it's not, I don't feel joyful when somebody loses their life, nor do I feel joyful from somebody loses their job -- that concerns me. And, uh, y'know, a president ends up carrying a lot of people's grief in his soul. But the idea of being able to serve a nation you love, uh, is, is, uh, has been joyful. In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad....but the spirits are up."