DALLAS - For a former president, it does not get much better than this. Over the weekend, George W. Bush welcomed his first grandchild into the world. And next week he will welcome the arrival of his other baby, a 226,565-square-foot presidential center.
Mr. Bush, who has remained largely removed from the spotlight in the four years since leaving the White House, returned to television screens on Monday in a series of hospital snapshots with his new granddaughter, Mila, who was born to Jenna and Henry Hager on Saturday night. Next week, he will host President Obama and other dignitaries to dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
The happenstance of timing served to underscore the dominant themes of Mr. Bush’s postpresidential life here in Texas. Once a wartime commander in chief, he is now a doting grandfather as well as an amateur painter. With his eight years in power behind him, he is trying to frame what they added up to and still promoting causes important to him while staying out of what he calls “the swamp†of national politics.
“One of the real challenges of life is that when you complete a chapter, you don’t atrophy, that you continue to find ways to contribute,†Mr. Bush told The Dallas Morning News in an interview published over the weekend.
Even before completing his presidential library, Mr. Bush has been working on issues like encouraging economic growth, promoting democracy abroad and fighting disease in Africa through his public policy institute. He spends a lot of time with war veterans, hosting long “wounded warrior†bicycle rides across Texas.
Along the way, he raised more than $500 million for his presidential center, which will occupy 23 acres on the campus of Southern Methodist University here and will host the institute, library and museum. After an April 25 dedication ceremony, the library and museum will open to the public on May 1.
In the interview, Mr. Bush expressed no regrets and said his record would stand the test of time. While “nobody likes to be criticized all the time,†he dismissed the attacks that continue to this day. “I’m comfortable with what I did,†he said. “I’m comfortable with who I am.†He added, “Much of my presidency was defined by things that you didn’t necessarily want to have happen.â€
The library debut will follow shortly the debut of the next generation of his family. Margaret Laura Hager, named after her two grandmothers and called Mila, arrived at 6 pounds 15 ounces. The “Today†show on NBC, where Jenna Hager works as a correspondent, aired family pictures on Monday morning showing George and Laura Bush with the new baby and her parents.
In one of the pictures, Mr. Bush, in a blue sweater over a light blue shirt, cradles Mila swathed in a baby blanket and wearing a baby cap as Mrs. Bush leans over with her arm around him.
“We are elated,†the former president said in a statement over the weekend.
