Arguably, being president of the United States is one of the toughest jobs around. But, it also has its bright spots, according to former President George W. Bush. At Hart Energy’s 6th annual DUG conference, recently in Fort Worth, Texas, Bush engaged nearly 2,400 attendees during a special luncheon with a frank and sometimes humorous speech on the reasons behind his recent memoir, his presidency, and his outlook for energy.

Bush set the tone early by flatly declining to criticize his successor. “Doing so would be bad for the country and the presidency,” he said. “The current president has plenty of critics, and he doesn’t need a former president piling on.”

He then shared some thoughts on why he wrote his memoir, Decision Points, which he happily, openly promoted to the audience. “This book is meant to be a data point for future historians. It is also a way to put you in my shoes. As a nation we all lived through some pretty tumultuous events during my years in office, and I wanted to convey a sense of what it was like to be in the center of the storm. The book is also based on certain decisions I made. Writing it was the end of a presidency--with an exclamation point.”

The scope of the book covers, among many things, why he ran for president in the first place, his faith, his father—former President George H. W. Bush--his wife, former First Lady Laura Bush, and dealing with how, at one point, alcohol had started to come ahead of his family.

“If you’re a father, give your child unconditional love,” he stressed. “I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t quit drinking and if I didn’t have the unconditional love of somebody I admire.

“Running for president is risky. You can run and lose. Then you get to hear people say, ‘What a pathetic candidate.’ Or you can run and win. Then they’ll say, ‘What a pathetic president.’ Either way, it doesn’t matter if you have the unconditional love of someone you admire, and I admire George H. W. Bush--a lot.”

Former President Bush spoke candidly to nearly 2,400 attendees during an exclusive luncheon at Hart Energy's 6th annual DUG conference about the reasons behind his recent memoir, his presidency, his outlook for energy and the dangers of false science.

For the rapt audience, he also recalled some of the more challenging events that unfolded during his time as president--and the controversial decisions that followed. These included the September 11 attacks, the capture and interrogation of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed--the chief operating officer of al-Qaeda--and navigating the initial signs of the country’s pending economic meltdown.

If he had to relive these moments, Bush said he wouldn’t change the decisions he made.

Following his formal remarks, Bush sat down with Oil and Gas Investor’s Editor-in-Chief, Leslie Haines, to share his thoughts on energy, being Commander-in-Chief and his advice for E&P professionals.

Haines: The U.S.’ natural gas supply has increased tremendously thanks to the shale plays. What are your thoughts on energy right now, and do you think the U.S. should ever export natural gas?

President Bush: Yes. I think the issue is whether or not we’re going to have that much. First, it’s a blessing that we have as much natural gas as we do. You keep hearing the phrase ‘we’re addicted to oil.’ What that means is that there are too many foreign policy issues that come to the Oval Office as a result of being dependent on other nations’ oil. Thankfully most of it comes from Canada. But when you’re looking at getting resources from the Middle East—where they don’t like us—-that becomes a national security issue. Therefore, less dependency on oil from overseas is in our nation’s best interest.

Natural gas is a blessing in that it’s domestic. The question is whether or not parts of our country are so anti oil and gas that they’re going to use false science to prohibit the use of hydraulic fracing.

As extensive as the Marcellus shale play may be, a good energy policy would involve moving natural gas up east through pipelines and replacing subsidized heating oil. Some folks are saying that the water supplies would be forever polluted, but if that were the case, everybody in Texas would already be dead. This industry needs to stand up and say that the false sciences against hydraulic fracing are not in the nation’s interest.

I also believe we need to pursue nuclear power. I readily concede that it’s going to be a little more difficult after the incident in Japan, but we need electricity and need to make the best use of that which is available, including natural gas and nuclear power.

In order to develop technology you have to be wealthy. In order to be a wealthy nation, you have to be willing to grow your economy, and one way to do it is to make sure you have enough energy, and natural gas can help with that. I just hope reasonable minds prevail when it comes time for making policies.

Haines: Have you ever ridden in a natural gas vehicle?

President Bush: No…I’ve ridden in Air Force One, and I do miss that (laughing)… I also miss being Commander-in-Chief. You can’t imagine what it was like to look somebody in the eyes who volunteered and salute them—people who signed up after 9/11 who knew what they were getting into.

Haines: What advice would you give to professionals actively trying to produce oil and gas?

President Bush: Use other peoples’ money, particularly on an exploratory well. Seriously, you don’t need advice from me. If I was worth a damn finding oil I wouldn’t be sitting here as a former President.

Honestly, when it comes to politics, fight back. Remind people how important it is that we produce energy domestically. Also, supply and demand works. It’s going to be interesting to watch how the high price of gasoline begins to affect people’s minds. When I was president and the price of gasoline went up, everybody screamed, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ and all you can say is, ‘I’ll investigate.’

Truthfully, the only thing you can do is increase supply. Remember, right after the price of gas went up there was an outcry of ‘Drill baby, drill!’—People began to realize that constricted supply would affect the price of crude, which in turn affects the price of gasoline.

Looking back on my time as president, I knew some things were going to happen. I just didn’t know they’d be as tumultuous as they were. I’m surprised at how joyous the experience was. It was that way for me because I had a fabulous team of people around me. Two, I had a strong family. And three, I stayed connected to old friends.

People used to ask if it bothered me when I got criticized. Not really. What did bother me was when my father got criticized. Actually 1992 was probably the most painful year of my life, because I watched a good man get defeated for the presidency. By the time I was running for president the criticism seemed mild. I grew to understand that if you believe in something and you’re not willing to compromise on it, the criticism becomes nothing but background noise. And if you’re leading an organization, it’s essential that you keep your eye on the horizon.