Bush Glad Cheney's 'Out There' Taking on Democrats, But Says He'll Avoid Politics

Former President George W. Bush is glad his old second-in-command Dick Cheney is "out there" fighting the good fight against the Obama administration's national security polices, but Bush prefers to stay on the sidelines.

Bush spoke Friday at the inaugural Bush-Cheney reunion breakfast at a Washington hotel. Cheney, recovering from a heart attack, was unable to attend, and the meeting was closed to the media.

But Politico's Mike Allen, relying on accounts provided by attendees, said the former president was both funny and humble.

"Don't swagger. Sometimes I got carried away rallying the country," he quoted Bush as telling other breakfast guests. "I think the swagger criticism was fair. A lot of others weren't. I hope I conveyed a sense that I was a lonely sinner who found redemption. I'm not better than anyone else."

Bush also talked about his book, tentatively called "Decision Points," due out in November. "This is going to come as quite a shock to people up here that I can write a book, much less read one," he reportedly said.

In a serious vein, Bush said he didn't "want to be involved in politics, but I do in policy."

He said he didn't intend to be on a "panel of formers instructing the currents on what do do. I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity. I didn't like it when a certain former president -- and it wasn't 41 or 42 -- made my life miserable."

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was apparently the guy that Bush, number 43, was talking about.