Bush leaves Washington

Alas, the former president vacates the capital without flashing the Nixon double peace sign.

Published January 20, 2009 6:17PM (EST)

When the crowd on the Mall turned and waved at the chopper carrying the Bushes to Andrews Air Force Base, one got the sense that it wasn't the fondest farewell. By now, the two have likely boarded the plane that will take them back to Texas, and tonight, the AP reports, they'll sleep at their house in Crawford.

If you were hoping for an iconic, Nixon-style goodbye gesture from the most reviled president since Watergate, you were probably disappointed. Still, it's fun to wonder: when he gets in bed in Crawford tonight, what will Bush wish he could have said or done, but for the bounds of propriety?


By Gabriel Winant

Gabriel Winant is a graduate student in American history at Yale.

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