All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Mark Knoller is a White House correspondent for CBS News.

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Press Secretary Dana Perino said President Bush was in the Oval Office at 6:55 a.m. this morning.

He made some phone calls, talked to National Security Advisor Steve Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and took a call from his former Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

Mr. Bush then talk a last walk around the South Lawn, and is now spending his last moments in the White House with his family until the Obamas arrive just before 10 a.m.

Perino herself was in the press room giving out her last supply of M&M's with the presidential seal and Mr. Bush's signature on them.

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Click Here For All Of CBSNews.com's Special Inauguration Coverage

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Today, President Bush held his final news conference. He was more introspective than usual, more forthcoming about the extraordinary events of the past eight years.

He admitted to some regrets, saying his tough Texas talk might have been too much at times. Standing in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner in May of 2003, he says, was clearly a mistake. More than five years later we are still at war.

But perhaps the most stinging moment came when a reporter asked if President Bush's time in office had damaged America's moral standing in the world. President Bush feels strongly that it hasn't.

On January 21, he'll once again be George W. Bush, private citizen. The challenges and opportunities that come with the presidency will belong to another man.

May President-elect Obama heed the history lesson President Bush presented today when he said, "in this job, there are no do-overs.

Peter Maer is a White House correspondent for CBS News.

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The old Frank Sinatra song "My Way", especially the refrain "Regrets I had a few...." comes to mind following President Bush's final news conference.

It was a defiant, wistful and sometimes unusually introspective performance.

Mr. Bush elaborated on his intention to let history be the final judge of his White House years. He told reporters, "I've had my time in the klieg lights." But as he heads into his last full week in office, the president clearly hopes to control the focus of those lights on his legacy.

Reflecting on the sour economy, Mr. Bush said, "I readily concede I chucked aside some of my free-market principles when I was told by chief economic advisers that the situation we were facing could be worse than the Great Depression."

He said, "I inherited a recession. I'm ending on a recession." But Mr. Bush also inherited a balanced budget. There was no mention of the massive budget deficits that have piled up over the past eight years as he defended the tax cuts that some critics blame for much of the red ink. Mr. Bush insisted the cuts were "the right course of action." In something of an understatement, he said his successor "would have his hands full with the economy."

He was surprisingly frank ...

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You've seen him assaulted with a shoe, but care to see President Bush "hung?" That's a scenario Mr. Bush decided was worthy of a joke this morning in Washington.

"I suspected there would be a good-size crowd once the word got out about my hanging," the president said at the unveiling of his portrait at the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait by Robert Anderson – a classmate of Mr. Bush at Yale – will be hung in the exhibition “America’s Presidents," and available for viewing starting tomorrow.



White House correspondent Mark Knoller writes: "Since the gallery now has portraits dating back to George Washington, he noted the symmetry - from George W. to George W."

Mr. Bush also noted that the artist said he had a lot of trouble with Mr. Bush's mouth "and I told him that makes two of us," the president said ...

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Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

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To hear the White House tell it, one factor in the House vote yesterday against the administration’s bailout plan – was the word "bailout."

"It’s really unfortunate shorthand for a very complicated issue." says White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto.

He says the administration plan to rescue the financial markets is "not a bailout for Wall Street" and "certainly not a bailout for Wall Street CEOs."

Okay then – what should we call it?

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Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

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With no fanfare and little notice, the national debt has grown by more than $4 trillion during George W. Bush’s presidency.

It’s the biggest increase under any president in U.S history.

On the day President Bush took office, the national debt stood at $5.727 trillion. The latest number from the Treasury Department shows the national debt now stands at more than $9.849 trillion. That’s a 71.9 percent increase on Mr. Bush’s watch.

The bailout plan now pending in Congress could add hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt – though President Bush said this morning he expects that over time, “much if not all” of the bailout money “will be paid back.”

But the government is taking no chances. Buried deep in the hundred pages of bailout legislation is a provision that would raise the statutory ceiling on the national debt to $11.315 trillion. It’ll be the 7th time the debt limit has been raised during this administration. In fact it was just two months ago, on July 30, that President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, which contained a provision raising the debt ceiling ...

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Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

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CRAWFORD, Texas – Maybe you can explain it. I can’t.

In Denver, there are 15,000 members of the media covering the Democrats formally designating their candidate for president. Fair enough. It’s a legitimate story – though a strong argument can be made that it’s being way over-covered.

Meanwhile, 700 miles away here in Crawford, the media count of those covering President Bush is about 30 (of which barely 12 are reporters).

Sure, he’s on vacation – though I’ve stopped using that word with respect to American presidents. The job is always with them. They can never escape ...

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Today, President Bush begins what is likely his final trip to Europe as Commander-in-Chief.

The White House hopes to make progress on a range of issues, from insurgents in Afghanistan, to nuclear weapons in Iran. While we should all hope for the best, the trip looks a little like the beginning of a long goodbye.

For the rest of my notebook, just click the monitor.

Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

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It was a ceremony to mark Earth Day – and nearing the end of their summit - the leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico were going to plant a tree.

In Lafayette Square in the city’s business district, President Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Felipe Calderon walked side-by-side towards a pile of dirt with three shovels standing upright in it - like the Excalibur sword-in-the-stone.

“So what do you want us to do?” asked Mr. Bush – although it seemed obvious.

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Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News.

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Rarely does the White House press secretary find the president’s schedule for the day so amusing that she nearly erupts in a giggle.

“I hope I can get through this without laughing,” said Dana Perino, as she announced Mr. Bush’s events for the day.

At 10:40 this morning, she said, he was meeting in the Oval Office with the 2008 Bassmaster fishing champs.

“There’s a lot of puns that can be made out of that,” said Perino.

“Just angling for a good line,” chimed in her deputy, Tony Fratto.

“We could do this all day,” Perino replied – as she struggled to move on to the rest of the president’s schedule which included a meeting with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain. His official biography reveals he has an interest in fishing, though his visit to the White House had nothing to do with Bassmaster.

So he was not in the Oval Office an hour later as President Bush welcomed Bassmaster Classic champion Alton Jones and Women’s Bassmaster Tour Champion Judy Wong.

“There’s nothing better than fishing,” said Mr. Bush, who occasionally drops a hook, line and sinker into the pond at his ranch or along the coast of Maine on his dad’s speedboat.

He called fishing “a good clean sport” and one “that requires good conservation.”

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