Bush misses meeting with servicemembers

? Flying on Air Force One, eating meals prepared by the White House kitchen staff and drawing inspiration from his encounters with U.S. military personnel were among things former President George W. Bush missed since leaving office, he said Thursday.

The often-tearful meetings he had with relatives of fallen soldiers were “in some ways … very hard and in some ways, it was very uplifting,” the Texas Republican said in a speech to The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan at Lake Michigan College.

About eight people protested Bush’s appearance outside the venue, carrying signs that called him a murderer and a traitor.

The speech Thursday was one of the first made by the former president since leaving office in January.