what is your favorite bushism?

Question

there are too many to choose from.

Answer 1

strategery
teachers are the single greatest resource for teaching our children.

Answer 2

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table."—Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 22, 2005

So...many...Bushisms...

Answer 3

"'I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation,' the president told reporters in the Rose Garden. 'But I'm the decider and I decide what's best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.'"

The media has limited time to tell a story before the American attention span runs out. This being the case, they are far more likely to select quotes from a speech and summarize the rest than they are to print the entire text. Knowing this in advance, it's important to look at every sentence, and each fragment thereof, as though it will be taken out of context; because they will. Choosing words with care becomes far more crucial when you intend to hand them to the President of the United States of America. Is it possible that our president doesn't have a speechwriter? Perhaps he simply ignores him/her? Whatever the case, the leader of the free world desperately needs guidance in his speech. If anyone out there has ever written a note to a friend on a greeting card, you too may be qualified to write speeches for George W. Bush. For those thinking of applying, here's a few tips based on the only quote from a speech given on April 18, 2006 :

"I hear the voices..."

Under no circumstances should you let the President of the United States of America admit publicly that he hears voices. Hearing voices is a widely suspected symptom of insanity. Attempting to link it to the next sentence with poor punctuation, or rushing through the natural pause when delivering verbally, only succeeds in creating a run-on sentence. Run-on sentences give an overall impression that the thought was poorly formed at conception, and should have been reconsidered before it was spoken. Once again, should circumstances require such sentence construction, never begin with "I hear the voices..." It's simply not going to get better from there.

"and I read the front page"

This sentence fragment is also inadvisable when you look at it's implications. While it does state that the President can read, it suggests that he doesn't like to read very much. He'll skim the front page, but not turn to the article. That doesn't seem to make him anymore informed or qualified than anyone else on a paper route to make decisions (more on that later...).

Doesn't the big chair in the oval office come with a fleet of advisors? Why is the president getting his news by scanning the headlines? Granted, the current speech is in response to the possibility of new faces in the administration after the appointment of the new Chief of Staff, Joshua Bolten. Hopefully, Mr. Bolten will be able to hire new advisors that the President will be more inclined to listen to.

"and I know the speculation,"

There's nothing particularly wrong with this fragment, except that it's still attached to a nonsensical run-on sentence. In some ways, it's encouraging that the President can see the difference between fact and opinion. The question becomes, which source of information does he believe to be speculation? Is it the voices, or the front page? Since they evidently disagree, which does he choose to believe?

"but I'm the decider, and I decide what's best."

Oh my, where do we begin? Firstly, we're still on that same ill conceived run-on sentence. Next, there is no such word as decider. As president, there are many important decisions that he alone must make, and take responsibility for. It's perfectly legitimate, although a statement of the obvious, to say, "I'm the President, and ultimately it's my job to decide what's best." The English language is a buffet of various nouns and adjectives, each with subtle differences and nuance. Any idea you would like to convey can be thoroughly communicated using existing words and phrases, while attempting to create new words gives the impression that you simply don't know the correct ones. Mr. President, you are not the "Decider"; please stop refering to yourself as such.

"And what's best is for Donald Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of Defense."

Beginning a sentence with a conjunction is confusing because it seems to link it to the previous statement. In the interest of clarity, it's best if consecutive sentences are related, but separate thoughts. Having previously established himself as the Decider of What's Best, there's no need to immediately repeat that phrase (please don't repeat that phrase). The Decider making a decision could be a forgone conclusion with the phrase "Donald Rumsfeld will remain as the Secretary of Defense." It's a stronger statement, that allows very little room for argument. The President's Cabinet members serve at the pleasure of the President. If the Decider has decided, the decision should sound decisive.

If you can both write and speak intelligently in any language, including English, your country desperately needs your skills. Please apply at:

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/jobsearch.asp?q=speech+writer&salmin=&salmax=&paygrademin=&paygrademax=&FedEmp=N&sort=rv&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=0&SUBMIT1.y=0

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." -John F. Kennedy

Do you see how much better that sounds?

Answer 4

"Recession means that people's incomes, at the employer level, are going down. Basically, relative to costs, people are getting laid off."
George W. Bush
February 19, 2004
Washington, D.C.

^ Bush showing off his Harvard MBA again

Answer 5

"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein."—Washington, D.C., May 25, 2004

Answer 6

My favorite comes from a campaign stop where Bush was overheard talking to Cheney about an abrasive liberal media reporter:

B: "there's a major league asshole"
C: "big time...big time"

Ohhh you liberal morons.

Answer 7

I have 2 favorites;

Newclaar

Sh*t

Answer 8

"Arbolist...Look up the word. I dont know, maybe I made it up. Anyway, its an arbo-tree-ist, someone who knows about trees." ~ GWB, 8/21/01

God, Dubya is such a jackass! Hahahahahaha...

Answer 9

Strategery...

that one is a classic...

Or

Internets.

Answer 10

Is our children learning?