We cannot answer that because we cannot write history now.

Question: What will be the legacy of George W. Bush?

Rick Warren: You know, only 20 years from now can you know what the legacy of George W. Bush will be. Because nothing is as arrogant and as presumptuous as trying to write history now.

Because all of the presidents who were vilified when they were in office – Roosevelt, Kennedy, Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan, and on and on – looking back in hindsight those guys did some stuff right. And whether it is the Iraq war, the response to 9/11, or the response to AIDS, clearly this president has done more for global health than any president in history. Not only in the area of AIDS, but also in the area of malaria and in many other areas too. Now I’m sure that will be a part of his legacy, but you can’t write a legacy in the middle of it.

Recorded on: December 11, 2007