BENTON HARBOR — Former President George W. Bush spoke to a crowd of more than 2,500 people in Southwest Michigan Thursday night. It was his largest speech in the United States since leaving office four months ago.

The Economic Club of Southwest Michigan was among the first organizations in the world to invite the former president to speak at Lake Michigan College, according to Bush spokesman Rob Saliterman. Final arrangements were made through the non-partisan Washington Speakers Bureau.

Saliterman would not disclose the financial terms involved in the speech.

It marked the 35th time the former President spoke in Michigan, though the first of his post-presidency. It was also only the 4th post-presidential speech he's given in the U.S.

His first speaking engagement came in Canada on March 17th, and was followed by a speech in China in April. Mr. Bush also held two classroom lectures at Southern Methodist University and a spoke to high school students in New Mexico last weekend.

As for why he chose the Economic Club in Benton Harbor for his largest domestic speech yet?

"That's a simple answer," he told the standing room only crowd. "My father spoke here in 1995. My mother spoke here. My brother Jeb spoke here in 2007. I just want to say, thanks for finally having me!"

Bush talked for more than an hour and a half and answered about 9 questions from the audience.

As he took the stage he made a simple statement.

"Retirement's not so bad," he said. "The end of the presidency is a great relief."

But that didn't stop the president from touching on a myriad of topics in his 90 minute address.

He began by talking about his service as commander in chief as his "highest honor," then launched into a series of anecdotes about post-presidential life, saying simply that "life is good."

But, he quickly got down to business after that.

"I'll tell the stories of my administration as I saw them," he told the crowd. "We'll start with the biggest one."

That was the morning of September 11th, 2001.

"That day affected the rest of my presidency, and it still affects me today," he said.

Bush went on to call the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan "ideological struggles."

"We're in a war that's an ideological conflict. We've done it before with the fascists and communists. But, this ideological conflict is different, because the enemy is different," he said.

And, by the way, he isn't second guessing President Obama's change in strategy.

"Nothing I'm saying is meant to criticize my successor. I wish him all the best," Bush said.

That said, he did weigh in one at least one very contemporary topic-- North Korea’s recent nuclear test detonation--following a question from the audience.

Bush mentioned a time when North Korean tensions flared up during his presidency. He also talked about strong sanctions put in place during his tenure.

“Now is the time to impose them,” Bush said. “My attitude is, you get the carrots when your behavior changes.”

The former President also spoke about his controversial decision to move forward with wiretaps under the Patriot Act.

"I made the decision within the law to keep the American people safe. The information we gained saved lives. And, as for Saddam Hussein--the world is better without that man in power," Bush said.

On the economy, Bush said he intervened in the marketplace and “abandoned principle” toward the end of his presidency in order to prevent a total collapse his advisers warned would be worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“I made the decision that said I don’t want to let it fail,” he said. “You only would’ve known had it failed. I can’t prove to you the measures we took prevented failure. But I can tell you what was on my mind and that is, I was worried about the people all across the country.”

Still, for some local leaders, there was one economic element missing.

"There was nothing that really identified where we are today, and how Southwest Michigan is impacted and Northern Indiana," said State Rep. John Proos (R-St. Joseph). "But, he made it very, very clear this wasn't about anything other than his own personal opinion about where he sees things, where he sees his presidency, and where he sees his presidency in the scope of history."

And when it came to that legacy, Bush said he hoped he'd be remembered as “a man who showed up in office with a set of principles, and was unwilling to sacrifice his soul for the sake of popularity.”

It was a different George W. Bush on this stage, said some, with a different air about him.

"He seemed very relaxed and very comfortable--like he was enjoying this," said Brooke Byrne of Grand Rapids.

"He was almost uplifted," agreed Elizabeth Stanley of St. Joseph. "[Optimistic,] yes."

Others said the former President's words walked a careful line.

“I didn’t see at it as a partisan or political speech, said as much as maybe sort of a personal explanation of a viewpoint," said Kevin Khan of St. Joseph.

Still, not everyone thought so.

A small handful of protesters--some affiliated with national protest groups--held signs and spoke through megaphones as the crowd lined up to enter Lake Michigan College's Mendel Center around 6pm.

But, most of the crowd seemed to take the speech for what Bush asked them to.

"This is the ex-President's club, and I'm the newest member in it," he said just before walking off stage.

"Life is good."

South Bend Tribune Staff Writer Ed Ronco contributed to this report