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Live on Facebook: George W. Bush is an "iPad person," uses "the Facebook"

Former President George W. Bush made the granddaddy of book-tour stops today - swinging through the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto for a live Q&A broadcast on Facebook.
Written by Sam Diaz, Inactive

Former President George W. Bush made the granddaddy of book-tour stops today - swinging through the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto for a live Q&A broadcast on Facebook.

Why Facebook?

"Because you've got a lot of people paying attention to us and I'm trying to sell books," Bush said, grabbing one of many roars of laughter from the audience.

Bush provided an update on his use of technology - and even suggested that people run out and by both print and electronic versions of his book, called Decision Points. He called himself "an iPad guy" and said he uses "the Facebook"  to stay in touch with people.

He also noted that his administration was one of the first to use email - generating 170 million e-mails. But none were his, he said. "If you read some of my emails today, you could read anything you want into them, so I didn't so any of them."

The early minutes of the interview were filled with laughs - and even knuckle bump between Bush and Zuckerberg. He admitted that his appearance was an example of "shamelessly marketing" his book.

He touched briefly on a number of issues, recognizing that every President - and even heads of companies - face criticism. But he said he never liked when past presidents criticized sitting presidents. Asked to note something that he thinks the current administration has made, he named President Obama's position on Afghanhistan and his position about accountability in classrooms.

He gave some insight into the thought processes he went through as President, including some of his decisions surrounding Iraq. Al-Qaeda and the economy. Finally, he noted that the book - remember, he's on a book tour - less The George W Bush Story and more a perspective of the presidency for future historians to consider: his own.

"I've written this book because I've recognized there's no such thing as an accurate short-term history. I want to give future historians a perspective: mine," he said.

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