In a brief address in the Texas Senate, Bush said he was proud of his record as governor and confident that his successor, Republican Lt. Gov. Rick Perry, would ably carry on in Austin when he leaves for Washington next month.
"I am proud of the good we have done together in Texas, and I'm looking forward to the good we will do together in America," he said.
Bush said "no one person" could claim credit for the achievements in Texas during the past six years in improving schools, streamlining courts, overhauling juvenile justice programs and passing tax relief, because it was a bipartisan effort.
"Through it all I have tried to be a good steward of the office, to shape this state for the better, but the truth of the matter is I realize how much this state has shaped me," he said.
"In Texas, I have seen how diversity makes us stronger. I have seen how optimism can grow in tough places. I've seen good works of thousands of Texans, and I admire the spirit of independence and enterprise matched with a spirit of compassion and common effort."
Bush said he was confident that Perry, a rancher from Paint Creek, an Air Force veteran and former legislator, would carry on in the Texas tradition as governor.
"He is a man of Texas roots and Texas values," the outgoing governor said. "He will be a fine governor, carrying on the tradition of bipartisanship, civility and fair dealing."
Perry was to be sworn in as the 47th Texas governor in a ceremony in the Texas Senate later Thursday.
Bush will be remembered as a successful governor, according to Bruce Buchanan, a professor of political science at the University of Texas in Austin.
"Measured against the relatively moderate and specific goals he set, he has been a successful governor," he said. "He was the first Texas governor to use that post in a springboard to the White House, which in itself no small achievement."
Bush's greatest achievement was in consolidating the education reforms started by former Gov. Mark White and a study commission led by Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, according to Buchanan, and his most glaring failure was in not reforming the state's inadequate tax structure.
Perry, a loyal Bush supporter, is expected to mirror Bush in many ways, but he may have some ideas of his own, the UT political scientist said.
"He's a Bush understudy," Buchanan said. "He saw what worked well."
Perry will place more emphasis on higher education than Bush and work to improve science and math skills in the state's public schools, building on progress achieved by Bush in reading skills, the UT professor said.
The Republican-controlled Senate will meet Dec. 28 to elect one of their own as acting lieutenant governor, one of the most powerful posts in Texas government.
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