Bushisms – A Look Back As A New White House Winner Looms
Posted November 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s not just the start of an amazing new era in U.S. politics with the presidential election on Tuesday. It’s also the end of another one.
By the time Wednesday dawns – and maybe even before – we should know who the new occupant of the White House will be. And while George W. Bush won’t have to vacate the premises until January when the newly elected First Family moves in, there can be little doubt that whatever happens down south over the next 24 hours, a lot of the blame or credit will be as a result of his eight years in power.
John McCain has taken great pains to distance himself from the lame duck leader, who couldn’t run again after serving two terms. And Barack Obama has done everything in his power to tie his opponent to Bush’s long and sometimes questionable record.
The fact that the president was conspicuously absent from the campaign in its final stretch speaks volumes. McCain met with him publicly only once – and that was months ago. And Bush’s popularity rating is among the lowest in U.S. history.
But there’s one thing even his most ardent detractors will miss about the outgoing president and that’s the comedy fodder he provided.
Late night talk shows and comedians have had a field day as the Texan provided endless material, from being unable to open a door at a summit to mangling the English language in ways no president has ever attempted.
History will judge George W. Bush now that the voters no longer can. But as he gets ready to fade into that past, here’s a look back at some famous Bushisms, statements from the outgoing White House occupant that will leave with him in the New Year.
In the end, many may agree that they “misunderestimated” him.
“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”
“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.”
“They misunderestimated me.”
“Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?”
“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.”
“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.”
“They have no disregard for human life.”
“I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it.”
“If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.”
“If you don’t stand for anything, you don’t stand for anything! If you don’t stand for something, you don’t stand for anything!”
“We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile.”
“It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.”
“Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people.”
“I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office.”
“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.”
“I think we agree, the past is over.”
And finally, perhaps one of his most perceptive statements of all:
“I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”
See a year-by-year list of Bushisms here
Photo credit: Sol Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
