Rodney Atkins, Gatlins Welcome "W" Home

Larry Gatlin photo courtesy of larrygatlin.com.

Jan. 21, 2009 — After eight controversial years in the White House, President George W. Bush returned home Tuesday to Midland, Texas, where he was greeted by about 20,000 loyal citizens and a contingent of country singers: Rodney Atkins, Lee Greenwood and Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers Band.

"It’s awfully kind of these entertainers to come and keep you busy while we winged our way home," Bush told the audience in a webcast produced by the local CBS affiliate, KOSA-TV.

"The presidency was a joyous experience," he continued, "but as great as it was, nothing compares with Texas at sunset." He and Laura will soon move into a house in Dallas that she bought — he hasn’t yet seen it — and he relishes "mowing the lawn and taking out the trash. That," he joked, "is my new domestic agenda."

Rodney, who performed for Bush at the White House in November 2007, couldn’t resist the opportunity to help W. and his family return to civilian life.

"They’re just so personable and down to earth," Rodney told The Midland Reporter-Telegram. "With the events he has had to deal with, it is amazing that he carried himself so well. He’s dealt with the weight of the world."

Lee Greenwood became friends with the Bush family when W.’s father was the Vice President in the Reagan administration. Lee wrote "God Bless The U.S.A." following an international crisis involving the Soviet Union, and he subsequently performed the song at inaugurations for both Reagan and the Senior Bush, and at campaign rallies for W. and for last year’s Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Lee planned to sing that song in Midland as well as Aaron Tippin’s post-9/11 hit "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly."

"I wanted to be one of those who said, ‘Thank you. Thank you for being president. Thank you for being a great American,’" Lee told The Reporter-Telegram.

The Gatlins, who entertained W. and his father at the White House on Jan. 7, threaded their set list with a pair of former No. 1 hits: "All The Gold In California" and "Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer To You)."

In addition to the live performances, pre-recorded country was part of the welcoming ceremony. Travis Tritt’s "Rough Around The Edges" and Little Texas’ "God Blessed Texas" were heard just before Bush took the stage. Pat Green’s "Wave On Wave" and Brooks & Dunn’s "Only In America" were broadcast at the close while the departing president shook hands with audience members, many of whom lofted red, white and blue cut-outs of the letter "W."

Rodney had been expected to appear Tuesday at Dionne Warwick’s American Music Inaugural Ball at a D.C.-area Marriott Hotel. Funk master George Clinton, gospel artists Marvin Sapp and Kirk Franklin, rappers T-Pain and Lil Jon and "American Idol" alum Fantasia were among the other acts on tap for the event, which had been projected to draw as many as 6,000 people at $350 apiece. Warwick cancelled the ball, according to Washingtonian.com, after selling just a few hundred tickets.