Bush: Obama 'Deserves My Silence'

In his first speech as a former president, George W. Bush declined to offer any criticism of his successor. "He deserves my silence," Bush told a group of business leaders in Calgary, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail. “I want the president to succeed. I love my country more than politics.” Bush also said he planned to write a book about his 12 toughest decisions, the AP notes, though he didn't specify what they were.

In his speech, Bush said entrepreneurs and "risk-takers" must step forward to lead the nation out of its economic trouble. He also defended his decision to invade Iraq. "The world is better off and the Iraqi people are better off without Saddam, no ifs, ands, or buts,” he said. On Obama: “When he won I thought it was good for the United States of America. I was deeply touched and I was deeply moved when I saw African Americans on TV weeping and saying, ‘I never thought it was possible.'"
(More George W. Bush stories.)