Illustration by Tim O'Brien. Based on photograph by Shawn Thew/EPA/Corbis

George W. finally leaves the White House on January 20th. But before he escapes, Rolling Stone nabbed an "interview" in which Bush came clean — on his daddy issues, Condi's farts and the time Dick waterboarded the houseboy:

Let's talk about August 6th, 2001. That's the day you got a memo warning about plans for possible attacks by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. What were you doing that day? I'll be honest with you. I was at the ranch, on vacation. I was watching the Hall of Fame game on TV. First NFL preseason game of the year, hate to miss it, you know?

Get started on Matt Taibbi's cover story here: • Bush Apologzies

More Taibbi on George W. Bush:

• The Top Five Bush Rumors • Bush Like Me • Post-Bush Syndrome • The Great Iraq Swindle • The Magical Victory Tour

In Al Franken's race in Minnesota, blue and red tangle for the final time in the Bush era.

Read the full story here:

• The Last Recount

John McCain ran one of the most incompetent, schizo campaigns in history — and for that we owe him big-time.

Read the full story here:

• Requiem for a Maverick

Illustration:Barry Blitt

It was hot, it was dirty, and it took a very long time to be over — but it's finally time to light that cigarette after the 2008 presidential race. In the end, this strange and bitterly fought campaign season was really about two things: the unbelievable, almost inexpressible incompetence of the Republican Party, and the commensurate rise, on the other side, of the remarkable figure Barack Obama.

So now, from Mitt Romney as a Kmart shopper to Hillary Clinton as a horse, a few favorite moments from the trail.

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