G.W. Bush skipping GOP convention again

TAMPA, Fla., July 20 (UPI) -- George W. Bush, the most recent Republican president, will not attend his party's national convention next month in Tampa, Fla., a spokesman said Friday.

"President Bush was grateful for the invitation to the Republican National Convention," Bush spokesman Freddy Ford said in an e-mail to the Washington publication Politico. "He supports Governor [Mitt] Romney and wants him to succeed. President Bush is confident that Mitt Romney will be a great president. But he's still enjoying his time off the political stage and respectfully declined the invitation to go to Tampa."

Ford told Politico Bush declined the invitation before details such as whether he would speak at the convention were broached.

Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, has indicated he won't attend the convention, citing health issues.

The New York Times noted the younger Bush did not attend the GOP convention four years ago, instead appearing via remote video feed.

The newspaper reported that Bush said in an interview posted online by the Hoover Institution this week that he has had his fill of politics.

"I crawled out of the swamp, and I'm not crawling back in," he said.