In an interview set to air on Sunday, former President George W. Bush told C-SPAN that his political career is a wrap — not just as a candidate, but as a fundraiser and public critic, too.
Could it be that Michele Bachmann's recent camera confusion and historical blunders reminded him of how rough the press can be when you mess up?
Was it that Glenn Beck's paranoid link between the State of the Union address and the five pillars of Islam and Sarah Palin's "WTF" response assured him that the job of "second-guessing the current president" is in capable hands?
To be fair, he actually said he'd like to regain some anonymity and noted, "It's tough enough for the president as it is without a former president undermining the current president."
Is it a sign of the current political climate that we're actually kind of touched by that obvious statement (even more than we were by the State of the Union date-from-across-the-aisle routine)?
In any case, the 43rd president heading to the ranch and the golf course sounds like a win-win.
(Except one real tragedy: It seems that there will be no more Bushisms! We at The Root ask you to join us in a moment of silence as we mourn this source of political comic relief, while remaining hopeful that Palin can fill his shoes.)
Watch the video on C-SPAN and read more at the Huffington Post.
In other news: Marvelettes Lead Singer Gladys Horton Dies.