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George W. Bush is happy staying out of the limelight

President George W. Bush is back in the spotlight today as he opens his presidential library in Dallas. But the former president is eager to return to private life.

“I’ve decided to stay out of the limelight. I’m comfortable with that decision, and I don’t want to undermine our president,” he told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in one of several interviews that aired this morning and last night.

“Each former president chooses his own path. I’ve chosen mine and I’m very comfortable with my decision.”

In his interviews with Sawyer, CBS’ Charlie Rose and NBC’s Matt Lauer, Bush was quick to note that he doesn’t miss the oval office, being interviewed by the press or even having to make important decisions like what to do in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

But, he did reveal that his concerns when he heard about the bombing.

“I was deeply concerned that this could have been another highly organized attack on the country,” he told Sawyer. “Those who want to do harm only have to be right one time, and we have to be right 100% of the time.”

Bush also addressed the controversial war in Iraq. While he refused to tell Rose whether he would have gone forward with it if he knew the US would not find weapons of mass destruction, he told Sawyer, “I think the removal of Saddam Hussein was the right decision, not only for our security but for giving people the right to live in a free society.”

And he talked up the presidential prospects of his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

“He doesn’t need my counsel, because he knows what it is, which is, ‘Run,'” George W. Bush told ABC.

The former president, however, would not weigh in on the issue of gay marriage.

Further defending his decision to stay out of the spotlight, Bush told Rose, “I don’t want to spend my post-presidency trying to enhance my standing.” He added that those who want him to jump in and weigh in on an issue should not “hold their breath.”

Instead, the former commander-in-chief is focusing on painting, a hobby he practices 2-3 hours a day, he told Rose.

He also revealed that his artwork has given him “a whole new way of looking at the world.”

“I’m sitting here analyzing that tie you have,” he told Rose. “I’m trying to figure out if I can mix paint…what paints to mix…I’m not saying it’s an ugly tie.”

Bush also discussed his new granddaughter, Mila, who was born earlier this month.

His wife, Laura, told ABC that instead of “grandpa,” Bush wants to be called “El Hefe,” or “the boss.”