Watch Bush talk about the aftermath of 9/11 '' `` I told the American people I would n't tire and I would n't falter , and I have n't , '' the outgoing president said . Bush brushed off the low opinion-ratings and declining polls that have marked his waning presidency by saying , `` Look , opinion polls are nothing but a shot of yesterday 's news . '' `` Opinion polls are n't going to be high when the economy is in the tank , '' he added . `` People are n't happy with the economy . Neither am I . But you ca n't make decisions based on popularity polls . '' Bush took that train of thought on to another topic , Iraq . `` If the military thinks you 're making decisions based on the Gallup poll , they 're not going to follow a commander in chief , '' he said . Asked about inaccurate intelligence reports on alleged weapons of mass destruction that led up to the war in Iraq , Bush refused to criticize the CIA , saying only that he was `` disappointed . '' On Iraq , he maintained
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The commander in chief 's priority is preventing another terrorist attack in the United States , President Bush told CNN 's `` Larry King Live '' Tuesday . President Bush and first lady Laura Bush sit down with CNN 's Larry King Live on Tuesday . `` The most important job I have had -- and the most important job the next president is going to have -- is to protect the American people from another attack , '' Bush said . Accompanied by first lady Laura Bush and engaging in a wide-ranging conversation with King , Bush also said that his administration has been involved in stopping specific threats against the United States since the September 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks . `` We 've learned a lot of information about al Qaeda that we did n't know before , '' Bush said of intelligence activities during his tenure as president . `` We 've stopped some specific threats -- we 're decimating -LSB- al Qaeda 's -RSB- leadership . '' He did not offer specifics , but he did offer a self-assessment of his leadership in national security post-9 / 11 .