What do you make of Bush's statement, "Whatever the verdict on my presidency, I'm comfortable with the fact that I won't be around to hear it."?

This would be easy if it was something he said, but it’s from his recently released memoir, which undoubtedly had someone (of competence) involved in the wordsmithing. I have no idea what the context is, so I’d welcome a filling in of that blank as a response.

It just seems odd, no?