The Best Of Bushisms: A Final Collection On His Last Full Day In Office

Monday is not just Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday in the U.S. that’s also marked by some in Canada. It’s also the final full day of the eight year-presidency of George W. Bush.

How history will remember Bush 43, as he’s sometimes known, is a story yet to be written. But there’s ample reason to believe future generations may not be kind.

America suffered its worst terror attack on Bush’s watch – the September 11th,  2001 horrors in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania – although it can certainly be argued that was early on in his rule and the blame for sowing the seeds of that hatred lies well before his ascension to the White House.

He was unable to find Osama bin Laden, said to be the mastermind behind the disaster.

His invasion of Iraq under the false pretences of apparently non-existent weapons of mass destruction appears to have left the U.S. in a quagmire that may take years or even decades to escape.

The embarrassment of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal has yet to subside.

And successor Barack Obama has promised to close the prison for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where allegations of human rights abuses are still running rampant.

His insistence on going after the admittedly odious Saddam Hussein has Canada and a few other countries fighting what many believe to the real enemy in Afghanistan.

His government’s ineffective response after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina left many families struggling to recover.

The less said about the two votes and the irregularities that saw him gain and then stay in power through two elections, the better. (Remember hanging chads?)

And the economic downturn he’s handing over to Obama may plague the world for years to come.

Many Canadians polled consider George Bush an abject failure as a leader, with some even going so far as to call him the worst president in American history.

And yet the Weekly Standard, a staunchly Conservative magazine, recently published an article about the Ten Things George Bush Did Right, showing some people believe he managed to make a difference over the last eight years.

But there’s one thing Bush may never be forgotten for and that’s pronouncements that will put him in the same league as Yogi Berra.

His “Bushisms” have become the stuff of legend, a mangling of the English language at once so bizarre and so absurd that it will stand in stark contrast to the polished oratory of his successor.

Here then, is a final look at some of the great sayings of George W. Bush on his last day in office.

Please don’t misunderestimate them.

Recent Sayings

“I’ve abandoned free market principles to save the free market system.”
Dec. 16, 2008

“You know, I’m the President during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in President, during I arrived in President.”
Dec. 1, 2008

“They have no disregard for human life.”
July 15, 2008

“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.”
July 4, 2008

Bush Classics

“I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it.”

“All I can tell you is when the governor calls, I answer his phone.”

“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.”

“As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.”

“More than two decades later, it is hard to imagine the Revolutionary War coming out any other way.”

“Give my chance a plan to work.”

“My concern, David, is several.”

“I’ve reminded the prime minister-the American people, Mr. Prime Minister, over the past months that it was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship.”

“Those who enter the country illegally violate the law.”

“We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

‘I don’t know why you’re talking about Sweden. They’re the neutral one. They don’t have an army.”

“Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiteracy level of our children are appalling.”

“The vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice.”

“I’m the master of low expectations.”

“First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren’t necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn’t mean you’re willing to kill.”

“One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end.”

“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.”

“I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here.”

“The problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”

“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.”

“And one of the things we’ve got to make sure that we do is anything.”

“We’ve tripled the amount of money – I believe it’s from $50 million up to $195 million available.”

“I couldn’t imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah.”

“They underestimated America. They underestimated our resolve, our determination, our love for freedom. They misunderestimated the fact that we love a neighbor in need. They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the Commander-in-Chief, too.”

“Border relations between Canada and Mexico have never been better.”

“Arbolist. Look up the word. I don’t know, maybe I made it up. Anyway, it’s an arbo-tree-ist, somebody who knows about trees.”

“You know, sometimes when you study history, you get stuck in the past.”

“I’m sure you can imagine it’s an unimaginable honour to live here.”

“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.”

“You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”

“I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well.”

“I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure.”

“Laura and I are proud to call John and Michelle Engler our friends. I know you’re proud to call him governor. What a good man the Englers are.”

“Never again in the halls of Washington, D.C., do I want to have to make explanations that I can’t explain.”

“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.”

“I think we agree, the past is over.”

“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”

“One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.”

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”

And finally some famous last words that seem all too appropriate as George W. Bush fades into history.

“There’s no such thing as legacies. At least, there is a legacy, but I’ll never see it.”

“You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you’re gone.”

“I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”

Take the Bushism quiz

Photo credit: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images