PERSPECTIVE:

A lot of people are mystified that Bush has withdrawn from public life so dramatically since leaving the White House. But he described being out of the spotlight, and out of power, as something of a cleansing experience.

"Fame can become very addictive. And I've had all the fame a man could want," he said.

I asked him if he had enjoyed the fame.

"Yeah, to a certain extent. I mean, it wasn't my life. It wasn't the center of my life. But I mean, when you're -- let me rephrase that. I enjoyed being president. And when you're president, you're famous. Now whether I enjoyed fame itself, I just, you know, you'd have to get the psychoanalyst on me," he said.

Bush has been loath to talk about himself since leaving office and has often mocked questions about his motivations as "navel-gazing." Even out of office, it's difficult to get him to admit weakness, because he is not second-guessing the decisions he made and doesn't want to give the impression that he is. But on his home turf, after three days of cycling, he offered a rare glimpse into how he felt the presidency had changed him and why he is glad he's no longer in office.

"I don't long for [fame]. Nor do I long for power. I've come to realize that power can be corrosive if you've had it for too long," Bush said. "It can dim your vision. And so I came to the conclusion that, you know, I don't long for fame. And really, gonna shy away from it. Not shy away from it. Avoid it. I'm not very shy. Avoid it."

It was a classic Rorschach moment. Those who hate Bush will say it shows he was an arrogant president whose power went to his head and he's just realizing it. Those who love him will say it shows a self-awareness and humility for which he was never given credit. Each side will probably be grasping different sides of the same complex soul.

He certainly has almost disappeared from public view since leaving office, especially compared to the way that former President Bill Clinton has stayed in the limelight. Clinton has been equal parts politician and philanthropist. But Bush shows no inclination to stay in the political game. He said he prefers to view events "not from the political side of things, although obviously almost everything is political."

"I tend to look at it from a historical perspective," he said.

So far his post-presidency seems to be on a track more like that of Jimmy Carter, who has largely focused on a few issues dear to his heart, only occasionally making news. Carter has worked on humanitarian causes like Habitat for Humanity and more geopolitical ones like the Middle East peace process. Bush, for his part, has focused on caring for veterans and eradicating HIV/AIDS and other diseases in Africa.

Though he hinted that he may not stay as off the radar in the future, "it's certainly what I feel like now," Bush said.

He revealed that "there's a frustration at the Bush Institute," a public policy think tank he founded in 2009, with his reluctance to speak in public on issues of the day. He said people will tell him, "You need to get out and you need to be out there, you know, opining about this and telling people about that."

"And I don't want to do that," he said.

Bush also said he didn't want to criticize President Barack Obama or the Republican Party. He said he saw Obama's second-term struggles as a result of cyclical forces in any two-term presidency.

"I'm not surprised the president is having a difficult go," Bush said. "It's just amazing how history repeats itself."

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