When former President George W. Bush spoke at a motivational seminar in Fort Worth yesterday, his most memorable anecdote, according to listeners, was one about dog poop.
Bush told a crowd of about 11,000 in his most publicized event since leaving office that he had recently taken his dog, Barney, for a walk, plastic bag in hand.
It was then that he realized "Man, my life has changed!"
Bush's speech was a string of anecdotes and observations about his time in office. Sharing the stage with Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell and Terry Bradshaw, he was apparently not the best speaker there.
But the audience was his.
One attendee told the Washington Post that his lack of speaking abilities sounds "incompetent if you are president. But here it can be inspiring. It makes him seem like a regular guy, no better than me."
Bush -- whose approval ratings were dismal in the waning months of his presidency -- warned against chasing popularity, which is "fleeting."
He also said that the prayers of his supporters got him through, and made every day "joyous."
"I don't see how you can be president without relying on the Almighty. Now when I was 21, I wouldn't have told you that, but at age 63, I can tell you that one of the most amazing surprises of the presidency was the fact that people's prayers affected me. I can't prove it to you. But I can tell you some days were great, some days not so great. But every day was joyous," he said.
The seminar -- run by giants of the motivational speaker world Peter and Tamara Lowe -- often focused on Jesus. Tamara Lowe called Jesus "the real superstar." Terry Bradshaw tossed out wristbands promoting his charity, Pigs for Jesus.
Bush isn't the first ex-president to speak at the Lowes' seminars. George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford have all headlined. (The Lowes closed their last firm, Success International, owing millions and barraged with complaints of false advertising, and opened Get Motivated in 2001, as the Star-Telegram points out.)
Tickets for the seminar only cost around $5 in advance. But door tickets went for $225, and the day-long event was punctuated with investment pitches.
As for Bush, former adviser Karen Hughes said he has "quite a few speeches planned" in the coming months.
Bush was reportedly paid upwards of $100,000 for the appearance, although representatives for neither Bush nor the Lowes would confirm that.
Not quite everyone was a fan. One woman, holding a sign that said "Arrest Bush," was "briskly hustled outside," according to the Dallas Morning News.
As we reported last week, Bush is set to give another speech for Get Motivated next month.

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EH
October 27, 2009 11:44 AM
For Bush, this is the perfect gig for the perfect company.
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lousgirl84
October 27, 2009 2:37 PM in reply to EH
ROFL - That is so true. Rachel Maddow's side kick Kent Jones went to Texas to interview the people after the show. It was a riot. They all loved him. Thought he was fabulous, but they liked Terry Bradshaw the best and he followed Bush. Whaddya expect for $19 a ticket!
LOL
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Winston Smith
October 27, 2009 10:05 PM in reply to lousgirl84
Terry Bradshaw would have been a better president.
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Winston Smith
October 27, 2009 11:47 AM
Should be followed by a book tour: If I Did It by Dick Cheney and George Bush.
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eve cairo
October 27, 2009 11:47 AM
Well he couldn't motivate an entire country or anyone in the world to believe he wasn't a moron and an incompetent so good luck. But the kind of cretins who would go to these things like him regardless. He's taking a page out of Poppy Bush's book--Daddy brings in big bucks talking at these kinds of things except Daddy does it mostly for Reverend Moon. Wanna bet most of the people there were unemployed dopes who got that way through Bush's policies? Oh the IRONY as Bugs Bunny would say.
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thomas1
October 27, 2009 3:53 PM in reply to eve cairo
car and insurance salesmen
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barnacle
October 27, 2009 12:03 PM
Cynical me -- before I read the article I was thinking to myself "Barnacle, old chap, I bet there's a bit on the 'rug of optimism' before the end of the story.'" And there it was, in paragraph two!!!
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Noam Sane
October 27, 2009 12:07 PM
"But every day was joyous"
When you're a sociopath, every day is another opportunity to be oblivious to the carnage you've unleashed, the hopes you've destroyed, the hatred you've sown.
Heckuva job.
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tiowally
October 27, 2009 12:09 PM
One woman, holding a sign that said "Arrest Bush," was "briskly hustled outside."
Just like the good ol' days.
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lousgirl84
October 27, 2009 2:38 PM in reply to tiowally
Isn't that the truth!!
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greysells2
October 27, 2009 5:30 PM in reply to tiowally
But your [sic] "socialist" friends in Canada, the one's with the popular health care system that works, at least, put up a spirited demonstration against GWB's appearance in Alberta.
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NobleCommentDecider
October 27, 2009 12:47 PM
Two showed up to for every American Bush sent to an early grave, and he still lies every time he opens his mouth:
Bush assured the families of war veterans that he wouldn't sell out "their loved ones for the sake of pure politics."
link
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Matt Jones
October 27, 2009 12:48 PM
Popularity may be fleeting, but hatred and scorn are forever.
So are dead Iraqis, not that Shrub would notice.
So are war crimes convictions, as he will hopefully eventually learn.
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TheraP
October 27, 2009 12:48 PM
Wow! Almost biblical in its wisdom! NOT!
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TheraP
October 27, 2009 12:51 PM in reply to TheraP
"Every day was joyous," he says.... Doesn't that sicken you? Every day he was president was another downer for me!
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writergal
October 27, 2009 1:09 PM in reply to TheraP
Sickens.
I miss you TheraP
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TheraP
October 27, 2009 1:17 PM in reply to writergal
I miss you all. I send my love. I am well. :-)
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Lucidity
October 27, 2009 12:50 PM
It is inspiring to see another former president dedicate his post-White House years not to hustling for personal wealth but to pursuing peace and justice in the world.
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Kinkistyle
October 27, 2009 12:52 PM
Hmm, lets see... a skinny middle-eastern guy with a long beard in white robes espousing radical ideals and threatening to collapse the modern banking system. I think this Jesus guy would at least be on the terrorist watchlist if not already in detention.
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calgarr
October 27, 2009 1:36 PM in reply to Kinkistyle
Perfect! It's obvious to anyone who is paying attention that all of the ultra right-wing conservative haters who claim to follow Jesus are in fact the same kinds of people who persecuted him in the first place: afraid of losing their control over the religious and political landscape; placing more value on the acquisition of wealth than the welfare of the people; narrow-minded, power-hungry, fear-mongering, self-righteous blowhards whose time in power is (I hope) near an end.
Well put, Kinkistyle!
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KingElvis
October 27, 2009 5:52 PM in reply to calgarr
Bush should have done his speech in Aramaic. Maybe he'll still earn a crown of thorns in the form of a war crimes tribunal.
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calgarr
October 28, 2009 2:07 AM in reply to KingElvis
Agreed! I love it!
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Gopherit
October 27, 2009 12:59 PM
How times have changed, indeed. He now does for Barney what dozens of lawyers, advisors, and functionaries did for him for 8 years. Good riddance, moron.
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commie atheist
October 27, 2009 1:28 PM
Perfect on so many levels.
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willia451
October 27, 2009 1:38 PM
It was then that he realized "Man, my life has changed!"
Yes. The kind of change we can ALL believe in and appreciate.
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kevbo
October 27, 2009 2:02 PM
Apparently he knows how to clean up Barney's messes on the sidewalk. Shame he never figured out how to clean up his own messes in the middle east.
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Rockridge
October 27, 2009 2:15 PM
This is the perfect venue for him. He's finally found his true calling: an evangelist for Christian-based financial success. I went to one of these things about 15 years ago. The hard core part was the after-session focusing on Jesus etc. I didn't stay. Zig Ziglar gives a hell of a speech.
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Rockridge
October 27, 2009 2:17 PM
The " every day...joyous" comment is so odd I don't know where to begin. It's boilerplate born-again stuff, but in the context of being president running 1.5 wars (let's be honest), it is wilder inappropriate.
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NobleCommentDecider
October 27, 2009 5:12 PM in reply to Rockridge
Don't you see that George W. Bush was 'joyous' because he was spreadin' God's Gift of Freedom, with lies, congealed blood, explosives, bullets, and the acrid odor of the burned flesh of thousands of innocent people.
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Corpiscator
October 27, 2009 2:18 PM
Shag off already will ya, moran.
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DuaneW
October 27, 2009 5:50 PM in reply to Corpiscator
Moron is spelled M-O-R-O-N not M-O-R-A-N, you m****n!
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Chesire111
October 27, 2009 2:38 PM
Maybe there's more to these seminars than I would have suspected. I wasn't even there and yet, the thought of Poppy's Pimple picking up dog shit sure motivates me!
Of course, I'm also picturing him without the bag...standing in a lake of fire...with a host of devils jabbing him with pointy objects, while "The Girl from Ipanema" drowns out the tortured screams of teh damned, but still - inspirational stuff!
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tiowally
October 27, 2009 4:59 PM in reply to Chesire111
I trust you are referring to the Muzak version of "Ipanema" enjoyed by the Blues Brothers as they rode the elevator up to the Cook County Assessor's office.
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Chris Weagel
October 27, 2009 3:11 PM
I can't think of a better fate for him.
Oh wait, yes I can-- hanging by his toes at the Hague.
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karassa
October 27, 2009 4:27 PM
Check out the new book on Obama and the Media
In Black and White: The Media and the Election of President Barack Obama, avialable on AMAZON.COM
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brianm0122
October 27, 2009 10:45 PM
One attendee told the Washington Post that his lack of speaking abilities sounds "incompetent if you are president. But here it can be inspiring. It makes him seem like a regular guy, no better than me."
If people want to be inspired by someone is seems "like a regular guy", I could have saved them the cost of admission.
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