—in a closed door session with congressional Republicans, Washington, DC, May 16, 2002.
Sometimes I have to admit I am dumbfounded. The man we call President is a blithering idiot and only a few of us seem to notice. Great numbers adore and respect him and I feel I must be the odd one instead because I fail to recognize his greatness.
I sometimes think this administration is daring us to fault them. Bush should have been criminally charged for at least one of a number of reasons, including: graft, cronyism, misrepresentation of facts leading to war, elitism, murder, allowing torture of combatants and non-combatants alike, support of big polluters, smear campaigns, violations of international law and other stupid actions.
Is it just me or is Bush more Teflon coated then 100 Ronald Reagans collectively could hope to be?
Criticisms of his administration are inevitable, yet they flaunt their invulnerabilities. It’s like they’re playing a grand game of “Catch Me If You Can” and they’ve got the powers of invisibility and immunity. How else can you explain the many Bush quotes that scream INEPT while simultaneously screaming UNTOUCHABLE?
Here are just a few of the misspeaks he’s made, that seem to me to toy with our petty insignificances:
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.
—Social Security “conversation,” Greece, New York, May 24, 2005
[T]he American people now are beginning to realize we have a serious problem when it comes to Social Security. And that problem begins with people like me.
—remarks at the Republican National Committee Gala, Washington, DC, May 17, 2005
A submarine could take this place out.
—comment to his tour guide at the Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, AR, November 18, 2004
With the campaign over, Americans are expecting a bipartisan effort and results. I’ll reach out to everyone who shares our goals.
—Washington, DC, November 4, 2004
I’m mindful in a free society that people can worship if they want to or not.
—during the final 2004 presidential debate, Tempe, AZ, October 13, 2004
I went to the Congress last September and proposed fundamental—supplemental funding, which is money for armor and body parts….
—Erie, PA, September 4, 2004
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.
—speaking to top Pentagon brass, Washington, DC, August 5, 2004; reported by Reuters.
I kind of like ducking questions
—at the Associated Press luncheon, Washington, DC, April 21, 2004
I’m sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn’t yet.
—responding to the question of what lessons had been learned from 9/11, press conference, Washington, DC, April 13, 2004
In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn’t serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences.
—appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, February 8, 2004.
I appreciate people’s opinions, but I’m more interested in news. And the best way to get the news is from objective sources. And the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what’s happening in the world.
—Fox News interview with Brit Hume, September 22, 2003.
We want those objections heard, of course—every citizen needs to hear a voice.
—Summerhaven, AZ, August 11, 2003.
Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace.
—Washington, D.C., July 25, 2003.
I’m also not very analytical. You know I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things.
—aboard AirForce One, June 4 2003
You’re free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it’ll take time to restore chaos and order….
—responding to a reporter who asked what Bush’s message to the Iraqi people was, Washington, DC, April 13, 2003
I’m the person who gets to decide, not you.
—reacting to a reporter’s statement in the lead-in to his question that “we’re headed to war in Iraq,” Crawford, TX, December 31, 2002.
One of the problems we have is that enough people can’t find work in America.
—Bentonville, AR, November 4, 2002.
You need to listen carefully to the debates that goes on in our nation’s capital. You see, some of them are—goes on with people trying to get to the nation’s capital. Some of them, they talk about the government’s money.
—Manchester, NH, October 5, 2002.
We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.
—Trenton, NJ, September 23, 2002.
...[T]here is a value system that cannot be compromised, and that is the values that we praise. And if the values are good enough for our people, they ought to be good enough for others, not in a way to impose because these are God-given values. These aren’t United States-created values. These are values of freedom and the human condition and mothers loving their children.
—interviewed by Bob Woodward, Crawford, TX, August 20, 2002.
I’m the commander—see, I don’t need to explain—I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don’t feel like I owe anybody an explanation.
—interviewed by Bob Woodward, Crawford, TX, August 20, 2002
I read the report put out by the bureaucracy.
—referring to his own Environmental Protection Agency report to the United Nations on global warming, June 4, 2002.
We hold dear what our Declaration of Independence says, that all have got uninalienable rights….
—addressing community and religious leaders in Moscow, May 24, 2002.
Some of the biggest sources of air pollution are the power plants, which send tons of admissions into our air.
—Wilmington, NY, April 22, 2002 (Earth Day).
Sometimes when I sleep at night I think of “Hop on Pop.”
—Penn. State University, April 2, 2002.
But there needs to be a focused, coalition effort in the region against peace.
—discussing the Middle East, Crawford, TX, March 30, 2002.
I don’t intend to read it all.
—referring to the education bill he had just signed, Hamilton, OH, January 8, 2002.
This administration is doing everything we can to end the stalemate in an efficient way. We’re making the right decisions to bring the solution to an end.
—Washington, DC, April 10, 2001
They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it’s some kind of federal program.
—St. Charles, Missouri, November 2, 2000
After all, religion has been around a lot longer than Darwinism.
—reported in George Magazine, September, 2000
It’s almost sad the way Bush can accidentally speak honestly. If he really knows the subjects he’s covering, you would think he would make far fewer mistakes. Unfortunately he often comes across as unprepared and uninformed. If Rove truly is his puppet master, why is Rove so (grudgingly at times, for sure) respected?
I wouldn’t want to spend even one moment in Bush’s head. I’m sure doing so would drive me insane. I feel he’s warned us for years not to take him seriously but too many still do. Why? On what planet would a buffoon like him be elected president twice?
Select quotes borrowed from The Dubya Report collection which has many more for our (amusements?).
My personal favourite!