George W. Bush on the 'good call'

He was far from a perfect president, but George W. Bush’s basic decency continues to shine through.

ABC said Bush appeared in Las Vegas before a crowd of 1,800. An ABC contributor in the room reported the remarks, Bush’s first public comments on the demise of bin Laden.

The fact that he wasn’t overjoyed, he said, was because tracking down bin Laden was done not “out of hatred but to exact judgment.”

“The guy is dead. That is good,” Bush said. “Osama’s death is a great victory in the war on terror. He was held up as a leader.”

Bush claimed no personal credit, though his supporters – and Obama and his aides – have credited him for setting in motion the manhunt. He credited the nation’s spy agencies. “They built a mosaic of information, piece by piece,” he said.

He also marveled at the “awesome, skilled, talented and brave” Navy SEALs who conducted the raid.

A couple of things in that. Bush, unlike his successor, didn’t leap up to claim credit for himself. He hailed the president’s “good call” and marveled at the brilliance of the SEALs who did the job.

But I’m a little confused by this part of the story:

Bush claimed no personal credit, though his supporters – and Obama and his aides – have credited him for setting in motion the manhunt.

Really? When did Obama and his aides credit Bush for setting in motion the manhunt?