( CNN ) -- It seems George W. Bush can take a joke -- and tell one . But before the former President sat down with Jay Leno on the Tonight Show late Tuesday , the comedian turned his successor , Barack Obama , into the brunt of his hard jabs . Leno raked him over the coals over Obamacare . `` Better him than me , '' Bush quipped afterward , relieved . He 's happy to be out of line of fire . `` Eight years is plenty , '' he said . `` I do n't miss the spotlight . '' Bush has largely avoided it since he left the White House in 2009 , and Leno could n't help but immediately pry into the reason why . Leno told the 43rd president that he was surprised that he agreed to appear this time . It was Bush 's fourth appearance on the show . Bush used the opening to land the first shot at the late-night host , who will go off the air next spring after 20 years on the tube . `` You 're about to head out to pasture . Just wanted to see what you look like , before you got to the gate , '' he said to laughs . Bush , like most predecessors , holds tongue on successor . Legacy . Then came his serious answer . `` I do n't think it 's good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor , '' Bush said . As he has often in the past , Bush said that history will judge his legacy . But he did n't appear concerned . Historians are still preoccupied with George Washington , he said . `` If they 're still writing biographies of the first guy , the 43rd guy does n't need to worry . '' Leno asked him for some advice to the sitting President on dealing with tough decisions . `` You have to believe in what you 're doing , '' he said . Family , faith and a good team helped him deal with the rest , when he was President , Bush said . President Obama 's approval ratings have taken a pounding in the wake of the technical glitches that have plagued the launch of the Affordable Care Act . Bush knows what public scorn feels like . But he said he did not take opinion poll numbers to heart . `` The only poll that really mattered was on Election Day . My first election was a little closer than I wanted , '' he said , grinning over one of many moments of self-deprecation . CNN exclusive : Bush on AIDS , Mandela , Snowden and his legacy . Retirement . Retirement seems to have afforded Bush opportunities for fun and fulfilling charity work . He and his wife Laura travel often to Africa , where the Bush Institute runs health initiatives . Leno showed a video of Bush dancing with locals in Zambia , making them laugh , and photo of the former Chief Executive painting a clinic . It 's a good message to leaders around the world , Bush said . Bush : Obama 'ought to play golf ' `` If it 's OK for the President to be painting and scraping , it 's OK for them to be painting and scraping . '' Bush joked that he has taken up a new profession since retiring from the Oval Office . `` I am a painter , '' he told Leno with a straight face . Leno asked , if he would add that to his resume . `` You may not think I 'm a painter ; I think I 'm a painter , '' Bush added with a sly smile . Bush made a gift to Leno of a portrait of the comedian , which he painted himself . He has been taking lessons in Dallas , and the results show . When he first met his teacher , Bush said he told her : . `` There 's a Rembrandt trapped in this body . Your job is to find him . '' Tweet of the day : Bush 41 , 43 hit the field .
He is glad to no longer be President . The former President has stayed quiet , because he does not want to criticize Obama , he said . He joked with Leno about the latter 's TV show coming to an end this spring . Bush made a gift to Leno of a portrait of the President that he painted himself .