There ought to be limits to freedom."
-- George W. Bush, complaining about a website critical of him, at an Austin Press Conference, May 21, 1999, quoted from and the Democratic Alliance, "Yes, They Really Said It!"
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." - GW Bush.
"More and more of our imports come from overseas."
G.W. Bush
"Nigeria is an important continent." - GW Bush
"Do you have blacks, too?"
-- George W. Bush, meeting with Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso; allegedly, in this incident, reportedly witnessed only by members of the White House Press Corps, Condoleezza Rice was present and jumped in to save Cardoso from having to answer, informing Bush that in fact Brazil is home to more blacks than any country outside Africa (unverified: November 2, 2001?)
"They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program."
-- George W. Bush, St. Charles, Missouri, November 2, 2000
"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
"It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency." - George W. Bush, June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling.
"As young Americans, you have an important responsibility, which is to become good citizens."
-- George W. Bush, in a June, 2001, letter to British students at Oakhill College in Lancashire, England: had they been Americans, wouldn't they already be citizens? Quoted from Randy Cassingham, "This is True" (24 June 2001).
"To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students, I say to you: you, too, can be president of the United States."
-- George W. Bush, receiving an honorary degree at Yale, quoted from Newsweek, June, 4, 2001
"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
-- George W. Bush, Florence, South Carolina, January 11, 2000, quoted from Michael Klein via Humour-Nette
"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test."
-- George W. Bush, Townsend, Tennessee, February 21, 2001, quoted from Jacob Weinberg, "The Complete Bushisms"
"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
-- George W. Bush, half-joking about his transition in Washington, D.C., December 18, 2000, quoted from CNN, "Bush to meet with Clinton as Cabinet building continues"
"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
Source: BusinessWeek Online, July 27, 2001
"I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun."
-- George W. Bush, St. Louis, Missouri, October 18, 2000, quoted from Jacob Weinberg, "The Complete Bushisms"
"Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."
-- George W. Bush, CNN online chat, August 30, 2000, quoted from Jacob Weinberg, "The Complete Bushisms"
"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."
-- George W. Bush, Greater Nashua, New Hampshire, Chamber of Commerce, January 27, 2000, quoted from Michael Klein via Humour-Nette
"This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while."
-- George W. Bush, using a loaded term which recalls the Christians' Medieval wars against Muslims in the so-called Holy Land, after stepping off the presidential helicopter on Sunday, September 16, 2001, quoted from Jonathan Lyons, "Bush enters Mideast's rhetorical minefield " (Reuters: September 21, 2001). Bush later apologized for this remark.
"Take the life issue. This issue requires a president and an administration leading our nation to understand the importance of life. This whole faith-based initiative really ties into a larger cultural issue that we're working on. It begins to affect the life issue, as well as the human dignity issue, because when you're talking about welcoming people of faith to help people who are disadvantaged and are unable to defend themselves, the logical step is also those babies."
-- George W. Bush, unaware that a press microphone was on, telling Roman Catholic "faith-based" subsidy supporters that they are "vital allies" because they won't "be eroded by political correctness or whatever," and assuring them that his scheme to give tax money to religious groups will help them promote opposition to legal abortion, at the White House on January 31, 2001, quoted from Margaret Sykes, "Bush Caught on Tape -- Again: Says he'll use tax dollars to help religious groups oppose abortion," About Pro-Choice Views, February 1, 2001
"I've heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for president."
-- George W. Bush, quoted from Aaron Latham, "How George W. Found God," George Magazine, September, 2000
"There's Adam Clymer, major league asshole from The New York Times."
-- George W. Bush, to running mate Dick Cheney, who replied, "Oh, yeah, big time," at a campaign rally in Naperville, Illinios: both were unaware that the podium microphone was on, quoted from CNN, "Bush uses expletive to describe Times reporter," September 4, 2000. Karen Hughes, the communications director for the Bush campaign said, "It was meant to be a whispered aside to his running mate. It was not intended to be a public comment." Duh!
"I've coined new words, like, misunderstanding and Hispanically."
-- George W. Bush, plugging (and unwittingly providing material for the second edition of) Weinberg's book, The Complete Bushisms, at the Radio-Television Correspondents Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 29, 2001. Bush probably meant to say "misunderestimating," a word that he has used in public speech. Quoted from Jacob Weinberg, "The Complete Bushisms."
"We must have the attitude that every child in America -- regardless of where they're raised or how they're born -- can learn."
-- George W. Bush, New Britain, Connecticut, April 18, 2001, quoted from Jacob Weinberg, "The Complete Bushisms"
The system is broken.
