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'I Relied Upon My Faith,' George W. Bush Tells Jay Leno

Former President George W. Bush gave <em>Tonight Show</em> host Jay Leno a painting Tuesday night. Since leaving the White House, Bush has taken up painting.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno's YouTube channel
Former President George W. Bush gave Tonight Show host Jay Leno a painting Tuesday night. Since leaving the White House, Bush has taken up painting.

Making a relatively rare appearance on national TV, former President George W. Bush told Tonight Show host Jay Leno on Tuesday's show that "I relied upon my faith, my family helped a lot and I had a good team around me" while in the White House.

Bush also repeated some things he's said before — that he doesn't miss being president and that he'll leave it up to history to judge his performance.

The nation's 43rd president also had some funny moments: "You look much more relaxed" now, Leno told him. "No kidding ... duh!" Bush said with a laugh and a comical look on his face.

The show has posted several clips on its YouTube page. We'll embed one that includes some of the serious and not-so-serious parts of the discussion.

Since leaving office, Bush has taken up painting. He gave Leno a portrait he's done of the Tonight Show host.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

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