bill clinton's trip to north korea got me wondering about what will happen to former president george w. bush. i can't imagine bush (jr.) being an effective envoy to anywhere, or any sort of "elder statesman." but that's the kind of thing that former presidents do after they leave office. aside from W, the only recent example of a non-statesman former president is ronald reagan. he pretty much vanished from public view. but reagan, it turned out, was suffering from alzheimer's. bush doesn't have that excuse.
i guess it might be a little early to tell. bush seems to be trying to avoid openly criticizing his successor, an ethic that his dad championed. despite his one slip, he has basically stayed out of the fray (in stark contrast to his vice president). so maybe it will be another few years before we see an attempt to be W the statesman. but i just can't see it happening. and i wonder what he will end up doing instead.
