Times on Bush: Just to replenish the ol’ coffers

The New York Times has Bush biographer Robert Draper on the line to talk about post-2008 for the genial, affectionate, articulate conversationalist. "When President Bush is asked what he plans to do when he leaves office, he often replies curtly: “I don’t have that much time to think beyond my presidency” or “I’m going to sprint to the finish.” But in an interview with a book author in the Oval Office one day last December, he daydreamed about the next phase of his life, when his time will be his own. First, Mr. Bush said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’ coffers.” With assets that have been estimated as high as nearly $21 million, Mr. Bush added, “I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75” thousand dollars a speech, and “Clinton’s making a lot of money.”

Then he said, “We’ll have a nice place in Dallas,” where he will be running what he called “a fantastic Freedom Institute” promoting democracy around the world. But he added, “I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch.” [More, and less, at the link]