I will always remember President George W. Bush for his final press conference. He shed light on a phrase that has been getting a lot of buzz since he uttered the words. Bush said he wouldn’t speculate about any decisions Obama would make. “He’ll make the decisions he thinks (are) necessary,” Bush said. “When I get out of here, I’m getting off the stage. I believe there ought to be one person in the Klieg lights at a time and I’ve had my time in the Klieg lights.” So, I pondered for a moment what exactly were Klieg lights. I did some research and came up with the following:
A Klieg light is an intense carbon arc lamp especially used in filmmaking. It is named after inventor John H. Kliegl and his brother Anton Tiberius Kliegl. Modern klieg lights use a tungsten-halogen filament. They usually have a fresnel lens or or ellipsoidal lens. The carbon-arc source was so bright that it allowed film directors to make “day” at night, which also heralded the era of blinding actors—a term coined as “Klieg eye.” Source: Wikipedia
I have to give President George W. Bush credit for delivering a moving farewell press conference. Though I believe that he is one of the worst presidents in American history, I will miss him. After all, he was our president for eight years. I teared up a little when he started speaking because our favorite punching bag is about to take his final curtain call in a week.
President Bush said that his well-wishes to his successor isn’t just a casual remark, saying he sincerely wants “all the best” for him. “It’s not a throwaway line,” Bush said. “The stakes are high. … I’m telling you there’s an enemy that would like to attack America — Americans — again. There just is. That’s the reality of the world.” Besides a terrorist threat, President-elect Barack Obama also faces a domestic economic crisis, Bush said. Yep, one he started.
Bush said he hoped the tone in Washington was different for Obama than for him. While noting that the White House and Congress “did find some good common ground … the rhetoric got out of control.” He said he considered himself “fortunate to have a front-row seat” for the historic inauguration of the first black president of the United States.” “President-elect Obama’s election does speak volumes about how far the country has come,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing moment.”
To echo Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way,” President Bush got us in a financial nightmare, his way. So, President Bush, I wish you all the best. It’s been eight years of laughter, at your expense in most cases.
Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”
And now, the end is near,
And so I face the final curtain.
My friends, I’ll say it clear;
I’ll state my case of which I’m certain.
I’ve lived a life that’s full –
I’ve travelled each and every highway.
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Regrets? I’ve had a few,
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
I planned each charted course –
Each careful step along the byway,
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew,
When I bit off more than I could chew,
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way.
I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried,
I’ve had my fill – my share of losing.
But now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that,
And may I say, not in a shy way –
Oh no. Oh no, not me.
I did it my way.
For what is a man? What has he got?
If not himself – Then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way.
Yes President Bush, it was your way.
Filed under: Final Press Conference, Frank Sinatra, President George W. Bush, President-elect Barack Obama
Black Political Thought 