The Dumbest Things President Bush Said in His First Term
"I
promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't
here." —at the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
"We spent
a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that
suffers from incredible disease." —Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001
"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be
able to pass a literacy test.'' —Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001
"We both use Colgate toothpaste." —after a
reporter asked what he had in common with British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
Camp David, Md., Feb. 23, 2001
"Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a — you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004
"I glance
at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read
the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news
themselves." —Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2003
"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 president." —as quoted in Bob Woodward's Bush at War
"I am
here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes
will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport." —Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2001
"The
war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein,
the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."
—Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003
"I saw a
poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in
America. It's pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future." —Washington,
D.C., Sept. 23, 2004
"Oh, no,
we're not going to have any casualties." —discussing
the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, as quoted by
Robertson
"I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"Haven't we already given money to rich people? Why are we going to do it again?" —to economic advisers discussing a second round of tax cuts, as quoted by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil, Washington, D.C., Nov. 26, 2002
"We need
an energy bill that encourages consumption." —Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23,
2002
"After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week — we will have an all-volunteer army!" —Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 16, 2004
"Do you have blacks, too?" —to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001
"This foreign policy stuff is a little
frustrating." —as quoted by the
New York Daily News, April 23, 2002
"I got to know Ken Lay when he was head of the —
what they call the Governor's Business Council in Texas. He was a
supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994. And she had named him the head of
the Governor's Business Council. And I decided to leave him in place, just for
the sake of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken and worked with
Ken." —attempting to distance himself from his biggest political patron,
Enron Chairman Ken Lay, whom he nicknamed "Kenny Boy," Washington,
D.C., Jan. 10, 2002
"It is
white." —after being asked by a child in Britain what the White House was
like, July 19, 2001
"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." —at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001
"For
every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks,
this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do
something about it." —Philadelphia, Penn., May 14, 2001
"I don't know why you're talking about Sweden.
They're the neutral one. They don't have an army." —during
a Dec. 2002 Oval Office meeting with Rep. Tom Lantos, as reported by the New
York Times
"You
forgot Poland." —to Sen. John Kerry during the first presidential debate,
after Kerry failed to mention Poland's contributions to the Iraq war coalition,
Miami, Fla., Sept. 30, 2004
"I'm the master of low expectations." —aboard Air Force One, June 4,
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 Air Force One, June 4, 2003
"I know what I believe. I will continue to
articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is
right." —Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001
"We need to counter the shockwave of the evildoer by having
individual rate cuts accelerated and by thinking about tax rebates." —Washington,
D.C. Oct. 4, 2001
"People say, how can I help on this war against
terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into
a shut-in's house and say I love you." —Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002
"I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it…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 answer, but it hadn't yet….I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't — you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." —President George W. Bush, after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2004
"The really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway." —explaining why high taxes on the rich are a failed strategy, Annandale, Va., Aug. 9, 2004
"My plan reduces the
national debt, and fast. So fast, in fact, that economists worry that we're
going to run out of debt to retire." —radio
address, Feb. 24, 2001
"You know, when I was one time campaigning in Chicago, a reporter said, 'Would you ever have a deficit?' I said, 'I can't imagine it, but there would be one if we had a war, or a national emergency, or a recession.' Never did I dream we'd get the trifecta." —Houston, Texas, June 14, 2002 (There is no evidence Bush ever made any such statement, despite recounting the trifecta line repeatedly in 2002. A search by the Washington Post revealed that the three caveats were brought up before the 2000 campaign — by Al Gore.)
"See, free nations are
peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't
develop weapons of mass destruction." —Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 3, 2003
"The British government has learned that Saddam
Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." —State
of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration
officials knew at the time to be false
"In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard." —repeating the phrases "hard work," "working hard," "hard choices," and other "hard"-based verbiage 22 times in his first debate with Sen. John Kerry
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our
number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." —Washington,
D.C., Sept. 13, 2001
"I don't know where bin
Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's
not our priority." —Washington,
D.C., March 13, 2002
"But all
in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me." —summing up his
first year in office, three months after the 9/11 attacks, Washington, D.C.,
Dec. 20, 2001
"I try to go for longer
runs, but it's tough around here at the White House on the outdoor track.
It's sad that I can't run longer. It's one of the saddest things about the
presidency." —interview
with "Runners World," Aug. 2002
"Can we
win? I don't think you can win it." —after
being asked whether the war on terror was winnable, "Today" show
interview, Aug. 30, 2004
"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." —Washington, D.C. June 18, 2002
"I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job." —to a group of Amish he met with privately, July 9, 2004
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." —speaking underneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1, 2003
“We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories … And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." —Washington, D.C., May 30, 2003
"Those weapons of mass
destruction have got to be somewhere!" —President George W. Bush, joking
about his administration's failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a
comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents' Association dinner
"If this were a
dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the
dictator." —Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 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
"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 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." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
"My answer is bring them on." —on Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003
****************************************************************
"I'm also mindful that man should never try to put words in God's mouth. I mean, we should never ascribe natural disasters or anything else to God. We are in no way, shape, or form should a human being, play God." —George W. Bush, ABC's 20/20, Washington D.C., Jan. 14, 2005
"I want to appreciate those of you who wear our nation's uniform for your sacrifice." —George W. Bush, Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 14, 2005
"I speak plainly sometimes, but you've got to be mindful of the consequences of the words. So put that down. I don't know if you'd call that a confession, a regret, something." —George W. Bush, speaking to reporters, Washington, D.C., Jan. 14, 2005
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" —George W. Bush, at the white House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
"We need to apply 21st-century information technology to the health care field. We need to have our medical records put on the I.T." —George W. Bush, Collinsville, Ill., Jan. 5, 2005
"It's a time of sorrow and sadness when we lose a loss of life." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 21, 2004
"They can get in line like those who have been here legally and have been working to become a citizenship in a legal manner." —George W. Bush, on immigrant workers, Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2004
"And so during these holiday seasons, we thank our blessings." —George W. Bush, Fort Belvoir, Va., Dec. 10, 2004
"Justice ought to be fair." —George W. Bush, speaking at the White House Economic Conference, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2004
"The president and I also reaffirmed our determination to fight terror, to bring drug trafficking to bear, to bring justice to those who pollute our youth." —George W. Bush, speaking with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, Santiago, Chile, Nov. 21, 2004
"We thought we were protected forever from trade policy or terrorist attacks because oceans protected us." —George W. Bush, speaking to business leaders at APEC Summit, Santiago, Chile, Nov. 20, 2004
"I always jest to people, the Oval Office is the kind of place where people stand outside, they're getting ready to come in and tell me what for, and they walk in and get overwhelmed in the atmosphere, and they say, man, you're looking pretty." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 4, 2004
"After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week — we will have an all-volunteer army!" —George W. Bush, Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 16, 2004
"I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he were the president of the United States, and the world would be a lot better off." —George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"When a drug comes in from Canada, I wanna make sure it cures ya, not kill ya... I've got an obligation to make sure our government does everything we can to protect you. And one — my worry is that it looks like it's from Canada, and it might be from a third world." —George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"We all thought there was weapons there, Robin. My opponent thought there was weapons there." —George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"Let me see where to start here. First, the National Journal named Senator Kennedy the most liberal senator of all." —George W. Bush, referring to Sen. Kerry, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"I own a timber company? That's news to me. Need some wood?" —George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges, years ago, said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights. That's a personal opinion. That's not what the constitution says. The constitution of the United States says we're all — you know, it doesn't say that. It doesn't speak to the equality of America." —George W. Bush, second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004
"The enemy understands a free Iraq will be a major defeat in their ideology of hatred. That's why they're fighting so vociferously." —George W. Bush, first presidential debate, Coral Gables, Fla., Sept. 30, 2004
"You know, it's hard work to try to love her as best as I can, knowing full well that the decision I made caused her loved one to be in harm's way." —George W. Bush, first presidential debate, Coral Gables, Fla., Sept. 30, 2004
"I think it's very important for the American President to mean what he says. That's why I understand that the enemy could misread what I say. That's why I try to be as clearly I can." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2004
"I saw a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America. It's pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2004
"I'm not the expert on how the Iraqi people think, because I live in America, where it's nice and safe and secure." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2004
"It's the Afghan national army that went into Najaf and did the work there." —George W. Bush, referring to Iraqi troops during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2004
"The CIA laid out several scenarios and said life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better, and they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like." —George W. Bush, New York City, Sept. 21, 2004
"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2004
"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —George W. Bush, Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004
"We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September and proposed fundamental — supplemental funding, which is money for armor and body parts and ammunition and fuel." —George W. Bush, Erie, Pa., Sept. 4, 2004
"Had we to do it over again, we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success, being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in escaped and lived to fight another day." —George W. Bush, telling Time magazine that he underestimated the Iraqi resistance
"They've seen me make decisions, they've seen me under trying times, they've seen me weep, they've seen me laugh, they've seen me hug. And they know who I am, and I believe they're comfortable with the fact that they know I'm not going to shift principles or shift positions based upon polls and focus groups." —George W. Bush, interview with USA Today, Aug. 27, 2004
"I hope you leave here and walk out and say, 'What did he say?'" —George W. Bush, Beaverton, Oregon, Aug. 13, 2004
"So community colleges are accessible, they're available, they're affordable, and their curriculums don't get stuck. In other words, if there's a need for a certain kind of worker, I presume your curriculums evolved over time." —George W. Bush, Niceville, Fla., Aug. 10, 2004
"Let me put it to you bluntly. In a changing world, we want more people to have control over your own life." —George W. Bush, Annandale, Va, Aug. 9, 2004
"As you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's — ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions — you can't — we're out of sanctions." —George W. Bush, Annandale, Va, Aug. 9, 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." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
"Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a — you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004
"I cut the taxes on everybody. I didn't cut them. The Congress cut them. I asked them to cut them." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004
"I wish I wasn't the war president. Who in the heck wants to be a war president? I don't." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004
"We stand for things." —George W. Bush, Davenport, Iowa, Aug. 5, 2004
'I don't know why you're talking about Sweden. They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.'' --George W. Bush, during an Oval Office meeting with Rep. Tom Lantos, as reported by the New York Times
"Give me a chance to be your president and America will be safer and stronger and better." —Still-President George W. Bush, Marquette, Michigan, July 13, 2004
"I mean, if you've ever been a governor of a state, you understand the vast potential of broadband technology, you understand how hard it is to make sure that physics, for example, is taught in every classroom in the state. It's difficult to do. It's, like, cost-prohibitive." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 24, 2004
"And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?" —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 15, 2004
"I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. You're doing a heck of a job. You cut your teeth here, right? That's where you started practicing? That's good. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me." —George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 2004
"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 25, 2004
"Like you, I have been disgraced about what I've seen on TV that took place in prison." —George W. Bush, Parkersburg, West Virginia, May 13, 2004
"My job is to, like, think beyond the immediate." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 21, 2004
"They could still be hidden, like the 50 tons of mustard gas on a turkey farm." —George W. Bush, on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Washington, D.C. , April 13, 2004
"This has been tough weeks in that country." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2004
"We're still being challenged in Iraq and the reason why is a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of freedom." —George W. Bush, Charlotte, N.C., April 5, 2004
"God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear." —George W. Bush, Los Angeles, Calif., March 3, 2004
"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, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2004
"Joe, I don't do nuance." —George W. Bush to Sen. Joseph Biden, as quoted in Time, Feb. 15, 2004
"The march to war affected the people's confidence. It's hard to make investment. See, if you're a small business owner or a large business owner and you're thinking about investing, you've got to be optimistic when you invest. Except when you're marching to war, it's not a very optimistic thought, is it? In other words, it's the opposite of optimistic when you're thinking you're going to war." —George W. Bush, Springfield, Mo., Feb. 9, 2004
"But the true strength of America is found in the hearts and souls of people like Travis, people who are willing to love their neighbor, just like they would like to love themselves." —George W. Bush, Springfield, Mo., Feb. 9, 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." —George W. Bush, Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004
"There is no such thing necessarily in a dictatorial regime of iron-clad absolutely solid evidence. The evidence I had was the best possible evidence that he had a weapon." —George W. Bush, Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004
"The recession started upon my arrival. It could have been — some say February, some say March, some speculate maybe earlier it started — but nevertheless, it happened as we showed up here. The attacks on our country affected our economy. Corporate scandals affected the confidence of people and therefore affected the economy. My decision on Iraq, this kind of march to war, affected the economy." —George W. Bush, Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004
"We do know that Saddam Hussein
had the intent and the capabilities to cause great harm. We know he was a great
danger….What we don't know yet is what we thought and what the Iraqi Survey
Group has found, and we want to look at that." —George
W. Bush, Washington, D.C. Feb. 2, 2004
"My views are one that speaks to freedom." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
"See, one of the interesting things in the Oval Office — I love to bring people into the Oval Office — right around the corner from here — and say, this is where I office, but I want you to know the office is always bigger than the person." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
"More Muslims have died at the hands of killers than — I say more Muslims — a lot of Muslims have died — I don't know the exact count — at Istanbul. Look at these different places around the world where there's been tremendous death and destruction because killers kill." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
"Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiteracy level of our children are appalling." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004
"Just remember it's the birds that's supposed to suffer, not the hunter." —George W. Bush, advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, N.M., Jan. 22, 2004
"For diplomacy to be effective,
words must be credible, and no one can now doubt the word of America." —George
W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004
"I want to thank the astronauts who are with us, the courageous spacial entrepreneurs who set such a wonderful example for the young of our country." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C. Jan. 14, 2004
"I was a prisoner too, but for bad reasons." —George W. Bush, to Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, on being told that all but one of the Argentine delegates to a summit meeting were imprisoned during the military dictatorship, Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 13, 2004
"One of the most meaningful things that's happened to me since I've been the governor — the president — governor — president. Oops. Ex-governor. I went to Bethesda Naval Hospital to give a fellow a Purple Heart, and at the same moment I watched him—get a Purple Heart for action in Iraq — and at that same — right after I gave him the Purple Heart, he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States — a Mexican citizen, now a United States citizen." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2004
"And if you're interested in the quality of education and you're paying attention to what you hear at Laclede, why don't you volunteer? Why don't you mentor a child how to read?" —George W. Bush, St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 5, 2004
"So thank you for reminding me about the importance of being a good mom and a great volunteer as well." —George W. Bush, St. Louis, Mos., Jan. 5, 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."
"People say, how can I help on this war on terror? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you"
"I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me - and I know what it's like"
"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"
"There's no cave deep enough for America, or dark enough to hide"
"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber"
"There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world's worst leaders to hold America hostage"
"I'm the master of low expectations"
"These people don't have tanks. They don't have ships. They hide in caves. They send suiciders out"
"First, let me make it very clear - poor people aren't necessarily killers"