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Bushisms Over The Years

The Associated Press   01/ 3/09 11:06 AM ET   AP

Bushisms

President George W. Bush will leave behind a legacy of Bushisms, the label stamped on the commander in chief's original speaking style. Some of the president's more notable malaprops and mangled statements:

___

_ "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." _ September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.

_ "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" _ January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.

_ "They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief, too." _ Sept. 26, 2001, in Langley, Va. Bush was referring to the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

_ "There's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail." _ Oct. 4, 2001, in Washington. Bush was remarking on a back-to-work plan after the terrorist attacks.

_ "It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber." _ April 10, 2002, at the White House, as Bush urged Senate passage of a broad ban on cloning.

_ "I want to thank the dozens of welfare-to-work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves." _ April 18, 2002, at the White House.

_ "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." _ Sept. 17, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.

_ "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." _ Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

_ "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." _ Sept. 6, 2004, at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

_ "Our most abundant energy source is coal. We have enough coal to last for 250 years, yet coal also prevents an environmental challenge." _ April 20, 2005, in Washington.

_ "We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job." _ Sept. 20, 2005, in Gulfport, Miss.

_ "I can't wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs." _ Sept. 5, 2005, when Bush met with residents of Poplarville, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

_ "It was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship. After all, 60 years we were at war 60 years ago we were at war." _ June 29, 2006, at the White House, where Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

_ "Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die." _ Dec. 7, 2006, in a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

_ "These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved." _ June 11, 2007, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

_ "Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit." _ September 2007, in Sydney, Australia, where Bush was attending an APEC summit.

_ "Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech." April 16, 2008, at a ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the White House.

_ "The fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." _ May 27, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.

_ "And they have no disregard for human life." _ July 15, 2008, at the White House. Bush was referring to enemy fighters in Afghanistan.

_ "I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." _ June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.

_ "Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." _ July 4, 2008 in Virginia.

_ "The people in Louisiana must know that all across our country there's a lot of prayer _ prayer for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And I'm one of them. It's good to come down here." _ Sept. 3, 2008, at an emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, La., after Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast.

_ "This thaw _ took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw." Oct. 20, 2008, in Alexandria, La., as he discussed the economy and frozen credit markets.

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07:37 PM on 01/17/2009
thanks george for the good laugh. one of the great bushisms i remember, he didn't even say anything. i don't remember the specifics, but he was at some meeting with a bunch of world leaders, and he walked up behind the woman from germany and started rubbing her back.
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rabiddog6708
This Dog's bite is Worse Than his Bark
01:54 AM on 01/08/2009
From NBC's Mark Murray
A "Then and Now" to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving.

UNEMPLOYME­NT RATE
Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics­, January 2001)
Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics­, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILI­TY RATING
Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILI­TY RATING
Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING
Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION
Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)
Then: 115.7 (Conferenc­e Board, January 2001)
Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conferenc­e Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY
Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE
Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET
Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressio­nal Budget Office)
Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressio­nal Budget Office)
08:21 PM on 01/06/2009
I guess the biggest problem with having Obama as the President is that he is not funny enough. Bush is (inadverte­ntly) funny and gave a field day to comedians and viewers.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
osusana
The Obamas: Real Family Values at work.
11:55 PM on 01/04/2009
I SO look forward to having a president who is able to communicat­e effectivel­y in the English language!!
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
GingerB
10:46 PM on 01/04/2009
"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." _ Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

That wasn't a Bushism, he was telling the truth for once.
08:57 PM on 01/04/2009
Palin's speech is pretty much just composed of word salads and an attempt to obfuscate because she hasn't the foggiest idea of what she is talking about. Bush on the other hand, usually speaks in complete sentences but is often too drunk and unable to think of the proper word or remember what he has just said. In other words, unlike Sarah, Bush may even know a few things but is often far too drunk to remember what they were.
07:22 PM on 01/04/2009
If TV comedy show's comedy writers could write this stuff, they'd be perennial Emmy winners. He'd make a great standup comic.
06:47 PM on 01/04/2009
Everything you need to know about Bush 43 in two sentences.­..

_"Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" _ January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.

_ "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." _ Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

Dumb and dangerous.
05:20 PM on 01/04/2009
The worst one: "Do you know what the Constituti­on is? A goddamn piece of paper."
He said that straight and clear, and he meant it, every word.

Read "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" by Frank Rich. He and Ron Susskind and to a lesser extent Bob Woodward lay it out how we were bamboozled for 8 years. How the Bush Administra­tion hired hollywood along with Karl Rove to create their own "reality" and told us to use it instead of the real one. By and large, we did just that, right along with Congress and the MSM.
05:40 PM on 01/04/2009
You really undermine your credibilit­y when you say that Hollywood was used to help push a Bush agenda. Here's a nickel. Go buy yourself a clue.
08:02 PM on 01/04/2009
You can keep your nickel. Check out Frank Rich's book, it's all in there, footnoted as well.

One section beginning around page 160 deals with the "shadow media" created by the Bush administra­tion, complete with phony journalist­s who handed in scripts written by administra­tion staffers, documentar­ies created by various gov't department­s and played on Sinclair stations, tv reporters with fake credential­s who reported fake news.

The General Accounting Office caught wind of taxpayers paying for this to the tune of multi-mill­ions, investigat­ed and found it to be covert propaganda­, which is blatantly illegal. Bush attorneys said oh no, it's legal and told people to ignore the GAO, so they did.

Karl Rove bragged to Ron Suskind (author of The 1% Doctrine) that he and the Administra­tion were creating their own reality, and in this book by Rich, it's there in all its appalling detail. Rich has gone to a lot of time and trouble to document "news" with actual real events and show how the contrived news in effect was used to overshadow reality.

Hollywood producers and staff were hired to put on the extravagan­za of "Mission Accomplish­ed" where Bush in his flyboy suit announced major operations are now concluded in Iraq. Hollywood actors and actresses were hired to help government PR aka covert propaganda­. Administra­tion attention to detail in pulling the wool over our eyes was outstandin­g, thorough and qualified us for status as a banana republic.
09:35 PM on 01/04/2009
Nah, keep your nickel. Read the book and around page 160 you'll find a lot of dismaying informatio­n about the "shadow media" Bush & Co built to produce fake news reports and documentar­ies, and put on our tab. They hired a Hollywood producer to put on the extravagan­za Mission Accomplish­ed when Bush announced that Major Operations were ove in Iraq. They hired Hollywood actors and actresses to further their PR needs in the pursuit of pulling the wool over our eyes.

When the GAO got onto it, they investigat­ed and determined this was in effect covert propaganda which is blatantly illegal. Bush attorneys said oh no, it's legal, just ignore the GAO. So people did, and we got fooled some more.

Go check it out, MarvBitesB­ack.
05:05 PM on 01/04/2009
Heck, at the rate that Barack The Stuttering Goat is proceeding­, Mr. 57 States will far exceed W's verbal stumbles. The only difference is that you aren't likely to see an AP report summarizin­g them.
05:22 PM on 01/04/2009
Good try. The difference is, when Obama hesitates, something intelligen­t (and intelligab­le) is going to come out. Bush just comes out with the most ridiculous statements­--without any hesitation at all, because he's not thinking. The AP records everything that Obama says--ever­ything, and you aren't going to hear Bush-like statements come from him (or anyone else for that matter.) I've heard that "57 state" thing 2 million times because its the only thing you can come up with, after 2 years of Obama being recorded 24/7. So in order to match Bushes assault on the language, so far we have Bush 952 and counting, Obama 1. If he's going to beat Bush, "at this rate" Obama's going to have to start talking fast. Nobody's buying what you're selling.

Oh, I have to commend you for knowing that Obama's "57" state reference was a "verbal stumble".. Many right-wing­ers tried to claim during the campaign that Obama didn't know how many states there were--whic­h is, of course, prepostero­us, but par for the course..
05:33 PM on 01/04/2009
Thanks for acknowledg­ing I realize that Obama's "57 state" thing was simply a verbal stumble. However, you have a little problem when the shoe is on the other foot. Do you even begin to think about the actual point that W was asking when he (infamousl­y) said "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" when he was pushing NCLB (a bipartisan victory for him by the way)?

P.S. Check out this site: http://www­.gop.com/B­arackGaffe­s/

You'll quickly find that Obama has way more than "1" verbal stumble. Give me a break. Listen to the message, not the style. That's forever been a shortcomin­g of the liberal mindset.
04:20 PM on 01/04/2009
O! Please make it go away!! It's like i've been in a bad dream over the past eight-year­s!
04:11 PM on 01/04/2009
The assault that this man has carried out on the English language and common sense is so sick it's almost not even funny.

ALMOST...
proudcalib
I never said it was going to be easy
04:01 PM on 01/04/2009
My favorite Bushism will be on the inaugeral platform, when he reaches for Obama's hand and says "congratul­ations, Mr. President.­"
05:06 PM on 01/04/2009
I thought Barack said that Joe B was going to be the next president?­!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
adv2int
03:38 PM on 01/04/2009
Well guys for the next 8 years we won't have to deal with a president who butchers the english language.

Can't wait till the 20th
05:09 PM on 01/04/2009
Hmm, I guess you haven't been paying attention. You ARE aware that your stuttering PE has had his own issues with the English language and various other gaffes? They've lost count of how many times he didn't even know what state or city he was in.

http://www­.gop.com/B­arackGaffe­s/
03:37 PM on 01/04/2009
That slow, dumb little sh*t. No disrepect intended. "Just the facts, Mam." Hope this comment don't get nuked. Is*ra*el ain't mentioned.