Top 25 "Bushisms"

1. 77

   Mighty Momposted 15 years ago

   Reporter Jacob Weisberg has been collecting the sayings of George W. Bush for the past 8 years.  In preparation for Bush leaving office, he has collected his favorite 25 "Bushisms".   These are all real (many will no doubt look familiar to you) and were recently published online in Slate.
   
   So I'll start. My flat out favorite has gotta be #17. How about yours?
   
   
   1. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."— Washington , D.C. , Aug. 5, 2004
   
   
   
   2. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."—Greater Nashua , N.H. , Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000
   
   
   
   3. "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"— Florence , S.C. , Jan. 11, 2000
   
   
   
   4. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."— Poplar Bluff , Mo. , Sept. 6, 2004
   
   
   
   5. "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."—declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas , Quebec City , Canada , April 21, 2001
   
   
   
   6. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''— Townsend , Tenn. , Feb. 21, 2001
   
   
   
   7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."— Washington , D.C. , April 18, 2006
   
   
   
   8. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."— Greece , N.Y., May 24, 2005
   
   
   
   9. "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that."—discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007
   
   
   
   10. "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq ."—meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington , D.C. , March 3, 2008
   
   
   
   11. "We ought to make the pie higher."—South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000
   
   
   
   12. "There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."— Nashville , Tenn. , Sept. 17, 2002
   
   
   
   13. "And there is distrust in Washington . I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."—speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007
   
   
   
   14. "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."— Houston , Sept. 6, 2000
   
   
   
   15. "It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."— Arlington Heights , Ill. , Oct. 24, 2000
   
   
   
   16. "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."—U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000
   
   
   
   17. "People say, 'How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?' You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."— Washington , D.C. , Sept. 19, 2002
   
   
   
   18. "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."—CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000
   
   
   
   19. "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend."—on the prospect of visiting Denmark , Washington , D.C. , June 29, 2005
   
   
   
   20. "I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to—the beauty of playing baseball."— Washington , D.C. , Feb. 13, 2006
   
   
   
   21. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."— LaCrosse , Wis. , Oct. 18, 2000
   
   
   
   22. "You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one."— Des Moines , Iowa , Oct. 26, 2006
   
   
   
   23. "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.' "— Boston , Oct. 3, 2000
   
   
   
   24. "They misunderestimated me."— Bentonville , Ark. , Nov. 6, 2000
   
   
   
   25. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."— Washington , D.C. , May 12, 2008

   replyreport
2. 71

   AEvansposted 15 years ago

   I wonder who is writer was? Good grief not only are they funny but their is certainly an abundance of error. I wonder what he was thinking? Lol
   
   By the way mine is number #4

   replyreport
3. 77

   Mighty Momposted 15 years ago

   An abundance of error is right! Like 2920 days' worth! As to who the "writer" was -- I think that's a big part of the problem. His scriptwriters should be fired -- or impeached:-)

   replyreport
   1. 71

      AEvansposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I could not agree with you more, but as we can see they certainly did not have any common sense themselves and my son can definitely write better then that. Maybe they should have taken lessons from "Are you Smarter then a 5th Grader".!!

      replyreport
   2. 57

      Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Not sure you can blame the scriptwriters for these.
      
      Unless he wrote them himself......

      replyreport
4. 77

   Mighty Momposted 15 years ago

   In his case, he should have relied on his scriptwriters more and himself less.  In fact, he should have hired a ghost SPEAKER to cover his public appearances!!
   But let's be honest. We're gonna miss him, aren't we?

   replyreport
5. 67

   Make Moneyposted 15 years ago

   I wonder how many times people have called him a moron.
   
   Baby Bush says he's going to write a book now. 
   
   I'm starting to hear a collective sigh of relief spreading around the world. 

   replyreport
6. 53

   NewRepublicanposted 15 years ago

   One must be careful not to equate one's linguistic skills to competency in regards to running a country.  This goes for both someone who is not so gifted in speaking and someone who is gifted in speaking.

   replyreport
   1. 82

      kerrygposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, but there's occasional errors and mispeaks, and there's blatant idiocy. Bush, I'm afraid, is much closer to the latter. He has a certain native political intelligence, but his almost complete lack of intellectual curiosity doomed whatever other intellect he might have had to wither on the vine.
      
      I do agree with you that intelligence and good leadership do not necessarily go hand in hand, but Bush was a lousy leader as well as a lousy intellect and I was deeply ashamed to call him my president. Obama's leadership capabilities remain to be tested, but meanwhile I thank God that America saw fit to elect someone this time around who can at least string two sentences together without making a fool of himself.

      replyreport
7. 53

   NewRepublicanposted 15 years ago

   How was Bush a lousy leader?

   replyreport
   1. 82

      kerrygposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Well, "failure on nearly every front" comes to mind. I could write you a list, but I'd rather go to bed, since you'll disagree with me anyway. ~yawns~

      replyreport