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Slate.com has monitored this for a while. The beeb has missed some beauties -

History
"I think we agree, the past is over"

Also, to the Brazilian President
"Do you have Blacks too?"

On education-
"If you teach a child to read, they'll be able to pass a literacy test"

(Trust me, you don't need to do that much, George.)

Blue Skies thinking on education
"I love the idea of a School where children come to learn"

More Blue Skies thinking
"My job is, like, to think beyond the immediate."


Law and Order
"I think we ought to raise the age at which a juvenile can have a gun"
(well, he's Texan, so that one might make sense in his neghbourhood).

"If you enter a country illegally you break the law"

A Pro-life philosophy
"Life is important...not only the life of babies, but the life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."

The War on Terror
"American troops WERE welcomed by Iraqis. It just wasn't a PEACEFUL welcome."

"We need to find those plotting to harm our country and move them out of harm's way."

I'm trying to collec these, so any others would be welcome.

GV

I collect them too, I have a bunch in a text file on my Mac at home. I'll copy-paste them later. A few gems from the top of my head:

-on education
"We are going to have the best educated Americans in the world."
(an achievable goal actually)

-on the environment:
"It's not pollution that's harming the environment, it's impurities in the air and water that are doing it."

-on foreign policy:
"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe, we are a part of Europe."

-on science:
"I think it's time for mankind to enter the solar system."

And at some point he was also recorded saying "Public speaking is easy.". Well don't underestimate it George!

More later,
Peter

Brilliant!! I'd missed those.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

More insights from the great philosopher.

A theory of justice
"I feel strongly that there ought to be fair justice."
"All of us in America want there to be fairness when it comes to justice."

A sense of history
"That's George Washington, the first president. The interesting thing about him is that I read three books about him last year. Isn't that interesting?"

On multi-tasking
"All I can tell you is when the governor calls I answer his phone."
"I don't particularly like it when people put words in my mouth unless I say it."
"One has a stronger hand when there's more people playing your same cards."

A Problem from Hell
"A clear lesson I learned in the museum was that forces that tend to divide people up inside their country are unbelievably counterproductive." - after touring a genocide memorial, Kigali,Rwanda

A new Clausewitz?
"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
"Suiciders are willing to kill innocent life in order to send the projection that this is an impossible mission."
"Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough war is. I talk to families who die."
"You know one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."

Philosophy of history
"Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history - revisionist historians is what I like to call them."
"One of the things important about history is to remember the true history."
"You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you're gone."

His deep, deep ecology
"I didn't grow up in the ocean - as a matter of fact - near the ocean - I grew up in the desert. Therefore, it was a pleasant contrast to see the ocean. And I particularly like it when I'm fishing."
"I think - tide turning - see, as I remember - I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of - it's easy to see a tide turn - did I say those words?"

On the The Wealth of Nations
"You know, when you give a man more money in his pocket - in this case, a woman more money in her pocket to expand a business, it - they build new buildings. And when somebody builds a new building somebody has got to come and build the building. And when the building expanded it prevented additional opportunities for people to work."

A hands-on Presidency
"And truth of the matter is a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is, I read it."

Equal Rights
President Bush: Peter. Are you going to ask that question with shades on?
Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times: I can take them off.
Bush: I'm interested in the shade look, seriously.
Wallsten: All right, I'll keep it, then.
Bush: You see there's no sun.
Wallsten: I guess it depends on your perspective.
Bush: Touche.



A witty exchange with blind reporter Peter Wallsten

"Our lives are simply not going to be as normal as they were in the past."

Subtle, but great.

Here are some more.

-on law and order:
"Who is to blame for riots? The rioters are to blame."

-his grasp of the global economy:
"More and more of our imports come from other countries."

-his grasp of the democratic process:
"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the poles."

-on the future of democracy:
I believe that we are on an irreversible trent toward democracy and more
freedom-but that could change.

-his self-assessment:
"I have made good judgements in the past. I have made good judgements in
the future."

-on the responsibilities of a state governor:
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any governor, and that one
word is 'to be prepared.'"

Smasher,

Regulars on this blog know you're obsessed with abortion, but isn't dragging a thread on Bushisms into it carrying it a bit far?

Also, some of the things you mention aren't so much gaffes, as things you disagree with.

And one statement that would be a clear gaff, has doubtful validity. I remember another poster asking you for a source to the 57 states gaffe (John Wright?). We didn't get one then. How about one now?

Peter

I'm not laughing at Bushisms.
I stopped laughing after his statement "There ought to be limits to freedom" was made in 1999.
(Said statement was a reference to his attempt to shut down a website that mocked him for refusing to answer a question on the use of drugs.)
Some considered that a Bushism.

I laughed even less after his later quote, from December 2000, "If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier. Of course, so long as I'm the dictator."

It reminds me of the sign above the x-ray machine at my airport. "NO JOKING MATTER".

And don't get me started on his WMD "joke".

Peter - I'm sure you can provide the sources for all of your Bushisms.

People make verbal mistakes all the time - the difference is some people are obsessed with proving George Bush is stupid and I don't think he is. Meanwhile the great Obama is given a by.

He said it in Beaverton, Oregon "It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

Can you imagine if George Bush hadn't known how many states there were in the union.

Everybody makes mistakes - I'm quite sure that Obama knew there were 50 States in the US, just as Dan Quaile knew how to spell potato before some idiot gave him a spelling-bee cue card with "potatoe" on it. The difference is the way the lefty media deal with them. Democrats get ignored and Republicans get dumped on from a height.

Smasher-

There's no doubt about the fact that everybody in public life makes gaffes, and there's also no doubt about the fact that Bush makes them so regularly and it's indicative of so much "under the hood" that he's positively entertaining as a result. The reason, therefore, that people have threads about Bushisms is that he's almost impossible not to laugh at.

(I would also tend to agree with you that Obama's 'halo effect' makes the media very reluctant to bring attention to any - or at least many - of his faults. This is a honeymoon period, nothing more, and it won't be long before that wears off. But don't expect a thread on Obamaisms at the end of his presidency: he'll never come even close to Bush!)

They are very funny. Yogi Berra's are even funnier.

It's so crowded, nobody goes there anymore.

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.
Yogi Berra

All pitchers are liars or crybabies.
Yogi Berra

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.
Yogi Berra

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.
Yogi Berra

Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.
Yogi Berra

Even Napoleon had his Watergate.
Yogi Berra

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
Yogi Berra

He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious.
Yogi Berra

How can you think and hit at the same time?
Yogi Berra

I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.
Yogi Berra

I just want to thank everyone who made this day necessary.
Yogi Berra

I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?
Yogi Berra

I never said most of the things I said.
Yogi Berra

I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.
Yogi Berra

I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question.
Yogi Berra

I'm a lucky guy and I'm happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.
Yogi Berra

I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.
Yogi Berra

If people don't want to come out to the ball park, nobody's gonna stop 'em.
Yogi Berra

If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be.
Yogi Berra

If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer.
Yogi Berra

If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
Yogi Berra

If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.
Yogi Berra

In baseball, you don't know nothing.
Yogi Berra

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
Yogi Berra

It ain't over till it's over.
Yogi Berra

It ain't the heat, it's the humility.
Yogi Berra

It gets late early out there.
Yogi Berra

It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.
Yogi Berra

It's like deja-vu, all over again.
Yogi Berra

It's pretty far, but it doesn't seem like it.
Yogi Berra

Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.
Yogi Berra

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.
Yogi Berra

Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting.
Yogi Berra

So I'm ugly. So what? I never saw anyone hit with his face.
Yogi Berra

The future ain't what it used to be.
Yogi Berra

The only color I don't have is navy brown.
Yogi Berra

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.
Yogi Berra

The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.
Yogi Berra

There are some people who, if they don't already know, you can't tell 'em.
Yogi Berra

We have deep depth.
Yogi Berra

We made too many wrong mistakes.
Yogi Berra

When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it.
Yogi Berra

You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six.
Yogi Berra

You can observe a lot by just watching.
Yogi Berra

You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours.
Yogi Berra

You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you.
Yogi Berra

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.
Yogi Berra


There's a whole book of them.

I love the Yogi Berra quotes.

Unfortunately famous people who are out in the public eye are always going to be ridiculed if the press has an interest in doing so.

Obviously the media wanted to put down President Bush and they made an effort to capture all his verbal slips.

Let us hope President Obama's honeymoon lasts a while longer.

Please join me in wishing both the past president and the new president well.

"And at some point he was also recorded saying "Public speaking is easy.". Well don't underestimate it George!"

Completely! I don't think Bush had any problems with confidence in public speaking - just the content, and a basic grasp of higher thinking :-).