http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/fe ... -asia-trip
George Bush plans world tour
Unpopular former president set to appear at speaking engagements in Europe, Asia and Canada
George Bush
George Bush waves to friends and supporters during a celebration in Midland, Texas in January. Photograph: Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Soon after leaving Downing Street, Tony Blair eagerly launched himself onto the American lecture circuit. Now the international exchange programme for former leaders is entering its second, potentially more controversial phase: George Bush is coming to Europe.
Despite 2008 approval ratings of just 19% among Europeans - significantly lower even than his almost unprecedented ratings at home - the former president plans several speaking engagements in Europe and Asia over the course of the next year, according to his advisors, though they did not reveal which countries were involved. The appearances will be part of a tour involving at least 10 events at home and abroad, according to Politico, beginning with a speech next month in one of Canada's most conservative cities.
At a two-hour lunch event on March 17, described as "a conversation with George W Bush", the 43rd president will address 1,500 invited guests - and emphatically no journalists - at the invitation of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. The brochure advertising Bush's appearance promises discussion of his "eight momentous years in the Oval Office," and "the momentous challenges facing the world in the 21st century." Local activists have promised protests.
The Calgary fee is a secret, although the Canadian agency involved did reportedly pay Bill Clinton $150,000 for a similar engagement three years ago. Even an ex-leader as unpopular as Bush should manage easily to exceed the presidential salary of $400,000.
Like Blair - and Condoleezza Rice, and also Barack Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe - Bush is represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau, which describes its speakers as "individuals whose ideas are changing the world." The former president is not yet included on the firm's "most requested speakers" list, though his brother Jeb is.
Even former presidents have only a relatively brief window of time in which to develop a lucrative reputation on the lecture circuit, said Wesley Neff, president of the Leigh Bureau, which represents the economists Paul Krugman and Nouriel Roubini, as well as Hillary Clinton's former chief strategist, Mark Penn.
The first president Bush followed a strategy of "make as much money as possible as quickly as possible," Neff said, but longevity on the circuit - especially in a slow economy - depends on offering a relevant message. "If [Bush] chooses to just tell war stories, I don't think there's going to be much demand."
The ex-president's success in the world of publishing seems equally uncertain at the moment. He is reportedly working on a book, but no deal has been announced - unlike in the case of Rice, who recently agreed a $2.5m deal for three memoirs, or Laura Bush, who got a $2m advance.
