George W. Bush returned home to Texas immediately after Barack Obama moved into the White House. Unlike what some would think, the former president is at ease. He feels good about himself and about his eight years in office. Approximately 2/3 of Americans disapprove of the way he did his job, but Bush himself belongs to the other 33%: he continues to believe that history will judge him kindly.

The Washington Post has an interesting article up about Bush’s tranquil life in Texas, and the way he looks at his presidency. Read it – it’ll give you a better of understanding of the 43rd president of the United States, his wife Laura, and the way they look at their years in the White House.

The presidency that is remembered on Daria Place bears little resemblance to the one that most of the country continues to blame for its problems. Bush left Washington on Jan. 20 with two-thirds of Americans disapproving of his job performance — one of the worst ratings ever for an outgoing U.S. president. In his return to private life, he has maintained tranquility by adhering to a basic philosophy:

He lives squarely in the remaining 33 percent.

Bush works with a dozen aides from his administration, socializes with friends he has known for decades and lives in a conservative neighborhood that voted for him — both times — by a ratio greater than 2 to 1. And while the rest of the world mulls and debates his legacy, Bush has told friends that he prefers not to use the “L word.” He dismisses analysis of his presidency as premature, regrets little and refrains from engaging in the snippety back-and-forth between the Obama administration and Bush loyalists such as Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. Bush feels content with his presidency, friends said. Now he will try to explain his two terms by writing a book and building a presidential center at Dallas’s Southern Methodist University so that history will have the means to judge him fairly.

Bush’s strength is also his major weakness. He does not care what anybody thinks of him, as long as he believe he did well. This is an obvious strength, but it’s also a weakness: sometimes, you’re wrong. There are times when you need to take a step back and listen to other people who know more than you do. Sometimes you have to doubt your ideas. Doubting yourself is never right. But a politician has to doubt his own ideas every now and then. Reasonable doubt results in better, stronger, more solid ideas.