posted on April 23, 2004 11:35:10 AM new
I wanted to post this since there are some here who continue to point out this President isn't as articulate as their candidate.
Think it makes a clear point that most aren't having trouble understanding what he's saying at all.
[taken from the Rasmusson Reports today]:
Communications 101:
While some pundits dismiss the President's communications skills, 72% of voters say they have a clear idea of where he stand on the key issues facing the nation.
posted on April 23, 2004 11:49:53 AM new
Linda, I'm one of those. I know exactly where Bush stands. I'm not fussy about Kerry, so I don't care where he stands.
posted on April 23, 2004 12:25:39 PM new
I can't remember anyone here saying that Bush wasn't as articulate as their candidate but maybe I missed those threads where it was "continually" pointed out.
posted on April 23, 2004 12:32:00 PM new
He is articulate as long as he is reading from a prepared script or teleprompter. However, the second he has to speak extemporaneously, he gets into real problems.
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 23, 2004 12:37:05 PM new
bunni - And I see it just the opposite...I believe he speaks much better when he's explaining where he stands on the issues....sharing why he's made the decisions he has...why he felt they were necessary, rath than when he's reading from a prepared speech or transcript.
posted on April 23, 2004 01:08:39 PM new
"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
"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
"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
posted on April 23, 2004 01:15:23 PM new
Oh, yes, he does marvelously well speaking extemporaneously:
"Earlier today, the Libyan government released Fathi Jahmi. She's a local government official who was imprisoned in 2002 for advocating free speech and democracy." —George W. Bush, citing Jahmi, who is a man, in a speech paying tribute to women reformers during International Women's Week, Washington, D.C., March 12, 2004
"The march to war hurt the economy. Laura reminded me a while ago that remember what was on the TV screens — she calls me, 'George W.' — 'George W.' I call her, 'First Lady.' No, anyway — she said, we said, march to war on our TV screen." —George W. Bush, Bay Shore, New York, Mar. 11, 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
"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
"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
"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
"I want to remind you all that in order to fight and win the war, it requires an expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops to make sure that they're well-paid, well-trained, well-equipped." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003
"See, without the tax relief package, there would have been a deficit, but there wouldn't have been the commiserate — not 'commiserate' — the kick to our economy that occurred as a result of the tax relief." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003
"[T]he Iraqis need to be very much involved. They were the people that was brutalized by this man." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003
"[T]he best way to find these terrorists who hide in holes is to get people coming forth to describe the location of the hole, is to give clues and data." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003
"Justice was being delivered to a man who defied that gift from the Almighty to the people of Iraq." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003
"This very week in 1989, there were protests in East Berlin and in Leipzig. By the end of that year, every communist dictatorship in Central America had collapsed." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2003
"[A]s you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2003
"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the — 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." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Oct. 27, 2003
"[W]hether they be Christian, Jew, or Muslim, or Hindu, people have heard the universal call to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be called themselves." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., October 8, 2003
"See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction." —George W. Bush, Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 3, 2003
"Washington is a town where there's all kinds of allegations. You've heard much of the allegations. And if people have got solid information, please come forward with it. And that would be people inside the information who are the so-called anonymous sources, or people outside the information — outside the administration." —George W. Bush, Chicago, Sept. 30, 2003
"[W]e've had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I've spoken out consistently against them, and I want to know who the leakers are." —George W. Bush, Chicago, Sept. 30, 2003
"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." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2003
"I'm so pleased to be able to say hello to Bill Scranton. He's one of the great Pennsylvania political families." —George W. Bush, Drexel Hill, Penn., Sept. 15, 2003
"We had a chance to visit with Teresa Nelson who's a parent, and a mom or a dad." —George W. Bush, Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 9, 2003
"As Luce reminded me, he said, without data, without facts, without information, the discussions about public education mean that a person is just another opinion." —George W. Bush, Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 9, 2003
"I'm a follower of American politics." —George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, Aug. 8, 2003
"[T]hat's just the nature of democracy. Sometimes pure politics enters into the rhetoric." —George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, Aug. 8, 2003
"We had a good Cabinet meeting, talked about a lot of issues. Secretary of State and Defense brought us up to date about our desires to spread freedom and peace around the world." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 1, 2003
"Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 25, 2003
"Our country puts $1 billion a year up to help feed the hungry. And we're by far the most generous nation in the world when it comes to that, and I'm proud to report that. This isn't a contest of who's the most generous. I'm just telling you as an aside. We're generous. We shouldn't be bragging about it. But we are. We're very generous." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 16, 2003
"It's very interesting when you think about it, the slaves who left here to go to America, because of their steadfast and their religion and their belief in freedom, helped change America." —George W. Bush, Dakar, Senegal, July 8, 2003
"My answer is bring them on."—On Iraqi militants attacking U.S. forces, George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003
"You've also got to measure in order to begin to effect change that's just more — when there's more than talk, there's just actual — a paradigm shift." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2003
"I urge the leaders in Europe and around the world to take swift, decisive action against terror groups such as Hamas, to cut off their funding, and to support — cut funding and support, as the United States has done." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 25, 2003
"Iran would be dangerous if they have a nuclear weapon." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2003
"Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history—revisionist historians is what I like to call them." —George W. Bush, Elizabeth, N.J., June 16, 2003
"I am determined to keep the process on the road to peace." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 10, 2003
"The true strength of America happens when a neighbor loves a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves." —George W. Bush, Elizabeth, N.J., June 16, 2003
"We are making steadfast progress." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 9, 2003
"I'm the master of low expectations." —George W. Bush, 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." —George W. Bush, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
"I recently met with the finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, was very impressed by his grasp of finances." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003
"Oftentimes, we live in a processed world — you know, people focus on the process and not results." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003
"I've got very good relations with President Mubarak and Crown Prince Abdallah and the King of Jordan, Gulf Coast countries." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003
"All up and down the different aspects of our society, we had meaningful discussions. Not only in the Cabinet Room, but prior to this and after this day, our secretaries, respective secretaries, will continue to interact to create the conditions necessary for prosperity to reign." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003
"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." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003
"We've had a great weekend here in the Land of the Enchanted." —George W. Bush, Albuquerque, N.M., May 12, 2003 (New Mexico's state nickname is "Land of Enchantment"
"I think war is a dangerous place." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2003
"We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in so doing, we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure." —George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, May 3, 2003
"We've got hundreds of sites to exploit, looking for the chemical and biological weapons that we know Saddam Hussein had prior to our entrance into Iraq." —George W. Bush, Santa Clara, Calif., May 2, 2003
"I don't bring God into my life to — to, you know, kind of be a political person." —George W. Bush, interview with Tom Brokaw aboard Air Force One, April 24, 2003
"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order — order out of chaos. But we will." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003
"Perhaps one way will be, if we use military force, in the post-Saddam Iraq the U.N. will definitely need to have a role. And that way it can begin to get its legs, legs of responsibility back." —George W. Bush, the Azores, Portugal, March 16, 2003
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"Now, we talked to Joan Hanover. She and her husband, George, were visiting with us. They are near retirement — retiring — in the process of retiring, meaning they're very smart, active, capable people who are retirement age and are retiring." —George W. Bush, Alexandria, Va., Feb. 12, 2003
"[The Space Shuttle] Columbia carried in its payroll classroom experiments from some of our students in America." —George W. Bush, Bethesda, Md., Feb. 3, 2003
"And, most importantly, Alma Powell, secretary of Colin Powell, is with us." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2003
"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." —George W. Bush, Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003
"When Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, 2003
"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2003
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 23, 2004 01:24:01 PM new
"The goals for this country are peace in the world. And the goals for this country are a compassionate American for every single citizen. That compassion is found in the hearts and souls of the American citizens." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2002
"I think the American people — I hope the American — I don't think, let me — I hope the American people trust me." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2002
"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002.
"In other words, I don't think people ought to be compelled to make the decision which they think is best for their family." —George W. Bush, on smallpox vaccinations, Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002
"Sometimes, Washington is one of these towns where the person — people who think they've got the sharp elbow is the most effective person." —George W. Bush, New Orleans, Dec. 3, 2002
"The law I sign today directs new funds and new focus to the task of collecting vital intelligence on terrorist threats and on weapons of mass production." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2002
"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." —George W. Bush, as quoted in Bob Woodward's "Bush at War"
"I know something about being a government. And you've got a good one." —George W. Bush, campaigning for Gov. Mike Huckabee, Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 4, 2002
"These people don't have tanks. They don't have ships. They hide in caves. They send suiciders out." —George W. Bush, speaking about terrorists, Portsmouth, N.H., Nov. 1, 2002
"I need to be able to move the right people to the right place at the right time to protect you, and I'm not going to accept a lousy bill out of the United Nations Senate." —George W. Bush, South Bend, Ind., Oct. 31, 2002
"John Thune has got a common-sense vision for good forest policy. I look forward to working with him in the United Nations Senate to preserve these national heritages." —George W. Bush, Aberdeen, S.D., Oct. 31, 2002
"Any time we've got any kind of inkling that somebody is thinking about doing something to an American and something to our homeland, you've just got to know we're moving on it, to protect the United Nations Constitution, and at the same time, we're protecting you." —George W. Bush, Aberdeen, S.D., Oct. 31, 2002
"I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will." —George W. Bush, speaking about Saddam Hussein, Manchester, N.H., Oct. 5, 2002
"Let me tell you my thoughts about tax relief. When your economy is kind of ooching along, it's important to let people have more of their own money." —George W. Bush, Boston, Oct. 4, 2002
"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." —George W. Bush, Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002
"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." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002
"You see, the Senate wants to take away some of the powers of the administrative branch." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002
"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." —George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (Click for video)
"See, we love — we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love." —George W. Bush, Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002
"There's no cave deep enough for America, or dark enough to hide." —George W. Bush, Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002
"President Musharraf, he's still tight with us on the war against terror, and that's what I appreciate. He's a — he understands that we've got to keep Al Qaeda on the run, and that by keeping him on the run, it's more likely we will bring him to justice." —George W. Bush, Ruch, Ore., Aug. 22, 2002
"I'm a patient man. And when I say I'm a patient man, I mean I'm a patient man. Nothing he [Saddam Hussein] has done has convinced me — I'm confident the Secretary of Defense — that he is the kind of fellow that is willing to forgo weapons of mass destruction, is willing to be a peaceful neighbor, that is — will honor the people — the Iraqi people of all stripes, will — values human life. He hasn't convinced me, nor has he convinced my administration." —George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, Aug. 21, 2002
"I'm thrilled to be here in the bread basket of America because it gives me a chance to remind our fellow citizens that we have an advantage here in America — we can feed ourselves." —George W. Bush, Stockton, Calif., Aug. 23, 2002
"The federal government and the state government must not fear programs who change lives, but must welcome those faith-based programs for the embetterment of mankind." —George W. Bush, Stockton, Calif., Aug. 23, 2002
"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." —George W. Bush, speaking at the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
"Tommy (Thompson) is a good listener, and he's a pretty good actor, too." —George W. Bush, apparently confusing his Health and Human Services secretary with Sen. Fred Thompson, Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
"There may be some tough times here in America. But this country has gone through tough times before, and we're going to do it again." —George W. Bush, Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
"The trial lawyers are very politically powerful. … But here in Texas we took them on and got some good medical — medical malpractice." —George W. Bush, Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
"I firmly believe the death tax is good for people from all walks of life all throughout our society." —George W. Bush, Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
"I love the idea of a school in which people come to get educated and stay in the state in which they're educated." —George W. Bush, Milwaukee, Wis., Aug. 14, 2002
"The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur." —George W. Bush, discussing the decline of the French economy with British Prime Minister Tony Blair
"There was no malfeance involved. This was an honest disagreement about accounting procedures. ... There was no malfeance, no attempt to hide anything." —George W. Bush, White House press conference, Washington, D.C., July 8, 2002
"I also understand how tender the free enterprise system can be." —George W. Bush, White House press conference, Washington, D.C., July 8, 2002
"Over 75 percent of white Americans own their home, and less than 50 percent of Hispanos and African Americans don't own their home. And that's a gap, that's a homeownership gap. And we've got to do something about it." —George W. Bush, Cleveland, Ohio, July 1, 2002
"Do you have blacks, too?" —George W. Bush, to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Nov. 8, 2001, as reported in an April 28, 2002, Estado Sao Pauloan column by Fernando Pedreira, a close friend of President Cardoso
"I'd rather have them sacrificing on behalf of our nation than, you know, endless hours of testimony on congressional hill." —George W. Bush, Fort Meade, Maryland, June 4, 2002
"We hold dear what our Declaration of Independence says, that all have got uninalienable rights, endowed by a Creator." —George W. Bush, to community and religious leaders in Moscow, May 24, 2002
"We're working with Chancellor Schröder on what's called 10-plus-10-over-10: $10 billion from the U.S.,$10 billion from other members of the G7 over a 10-year period, to help Russia securitize the dismantling — the dismantled nuclear warheads." —George W. Bush, Berlin, Germany, May 23, 2002
"After all, a week ago, there were — Yasser Arafat was boarded up in his building in Ramallah, a building full of, evidently, German peace protestors and all kinds of people. They're now out. He's now free to show leadership, to lead the world." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 2, 2002
"The public education system in America is one of the most important foundations of our democracy. After all, it is where children from all over America learn to be responsible citizens, and learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic opportunistic society." —George W. Bush, May 1, 2002
"This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." —George W. Bush, as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002
"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 10, 2002
"And so, in my State of the — my State of the Union — or state — my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation — I asked Americans to give 4,000 years — 4,000 hours over the next — the rest of your life — of service to America. That's what I asked — 4,000 hours." —George W. Bush, Bridgeport, Conn., April 9, 2002
"Sometimes when I sleep at night I think of (Dr. Seuss's) 'Hop on Pop.'" —George W. Bush, in a speech about childhood education, Washington, D.C., April 2, 2002
"We've tripled the amount of money — I believe it's from $50 million up to $195 million available." —George W. Bush, Lima, Peru, March 23, 2002
"We've got pockets of persistent poverty in our society, which I refuse to declare defeat — I mean, I refuse to allow them to continue on. And so one of the things that we're trying to do is to encourage a faith-based initiative to spread its wings all across America, to be able to capture this great compassionate spirit." —George W. Bush, O'Fallon, Mo., Mar. 18, 2002
"I understand that the unrest in the Middle East creates unrest throughout the region." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002
"There's nothing more deep than recognizing Israel's right to exist. That's the most deep thought of all. ... I can't think of anything more deep than that right." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002
"My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times. From that alliance has come an era of peace in the Pacific." —George W. Bush, who apparently forgot about a little something called World War II,
"Ann and I will carry out this equivocal message to the world: Markets must be open." —George W. Bush, at the swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, March 2, 2001
"He [Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi] said I want to make it very clear to you exactly what I intend to do and he talked about non-performing loans, the devaluation issue and regulatory reform and he placed equal emphasis on all three." —George W. Bush, who had meant to say "the deflation issue" rather than "the devaluation issue," and accidentally sent the Japanese Yen tumbling, Tokyo, Feb. 18, 2002
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 23, 2004 01:26:18 PM new
"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." —George W. Bush, at a White House Menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001
"We need to counter the shockwave of the evildoer by having individual rate cuts accelerated and by thinking about tax rebates." —George W. Bush, Oct. 4, 2001
"I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2001
"We are fully committed to working with both sides to bring the level of terror down to an acceptable level for both." —George W. Bush, after a meeting with congressional leaders, Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 2001
"The folks who conducted to act on our country on September 11th made a big mistake. 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." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2001
"The suicide bombings have increased. There's too many of them." —George W. Bush, Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 15, 2001
"One of the interesting initiatives we've taken in Washington, D.C., is we've got these vampire-busting devices. A vampire is a — a cell deal you can plug in the wall to charge your cell phone." —George W. Bush, Denver, Aug. 14, 2001
"There's a lot of people in the Middle East who are desirous to get into the Mitchell process. And — but first things first. The — these terrorist acts and, you know, the responses have got to end in order for us to get the framework — the groundwork — not framework, the groundwork to discuss a framework for peace, to lay the—all right." —George W. Bush, referring to former Sen. George Mitchell's report on Middle East peace, Crawford, Texas, Aug. 13, 2001
"My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the — in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen." —George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, Aug, 13, 2001
"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it." —George W. Bush, July 27, 2001
"You saw the president yesterday. I thought he was very forward-leaning, as they say in diplomatic nuanced circles." —Goerge W. Bush, referring to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, July 23, 2001
"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right." —George W. Bush, in Rome, July 22, 2001
"It is white." —George W. Bush, asked by a child in Britain what the White House was like, July 19, 2001
"Well, it's an unimaginable honor to be the president during the Fourth of July of this country. It means what these words say, for starters. The great inalienable rights of our country. We're blessed with such values in America. And I — it's — I'm a proud man to be the nation based upon such wonderful values." —George W. Bush, visiting the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C., July 2, 2001
"I want to thank you for coming to the White House to give me an opportunity to urge you to work with these five senators and three congressmen, to work hard to get this trade promotion authority moving. The power that be, well most of the power that be, sits right here."—George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2001
"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." —George W. Bush, at a news conference in Europe, June 14, 2001
"It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency." —George W. Bush, June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling.
"I haven't had a chance to talk, but I'm confident we'll get a bill that I can live with if we don't." —George W. Bush, referring to the McCain-Kennedy patients' bill of rights, June 13, 2001
"Can't living with the bill means it won't become law." —George W. Bush, referring to the McCain-Kennedy patients' bill of rights, June 13, 2001
"Anyway, I'm so thankful, and so gracious — I'm gracious that my brother Jeb is concerned about the hemisphere as well." —George W. Bush, June 4, 2001
"It's important for young men and women who look at the Nebraska champs to understand that quality of life is more than just blocking shots." —George W. Bush, in remarks to the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, the 2001 national champions, May 31, 2001
"So on behalf of a well-oiled unit of people who came together to serve something greater than themselves, congratulations." —George W. Bush, in remarks to the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, the 2001 national champions, May 31, 2001
"If a person doesn't have the capacity that we all want that person to have, I suspect hope is in the far distant future, if at all." —George W. Bush, May 22, 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." —George W. Bush, May 14
"There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead." —George W. Bush, May 11, 2001
"But I also made it clear to (Vladimir Putin) that it's important to think beyond the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would be safe." —George W. Bush, May 1, 2001
"First, we would not accept a treaty that would not have been ratified, nor a treaty that I thought made sense for the country." —George W. Bush, on the Kyoto accord, April 24, 2001
"It's very important for folks to understand that when there's more trade, there's more commerce." —George W. Bush, at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, April 21, 2001
"Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican." —George W. Bush, declining to take reporters' questions during a photo op with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, April 21, 2001
"It is time to set aside the old partisan bickering and finger-pointing and name-calling that comes from freeing parents to make different choices for their children." —George W. Bush, on "parental empowerment in education," April 12, 2001
"I think we're making progress. We understand where the power of this country lay. It lays in the hearts and souls of Americans. It must lay in our pocketbooks. It lays in the willingness for people to work hard. But as importantly, it lays in the fact that we've got citizens from all walks of life, all political parties, that are willing to say, I want to love my neighbor. I want to make somebody's life just a little bit better." —George W. Bush, April 11, 2001
"This administration is doing everything we can to end the stalemate in an efficient way. We're making the right decisions to bring the solution to an end." —George W. Bush, April 10, 2001
"It would be helpful if we opened up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). I think it's a mistake not to. And I would urge you all to travel up there and take a look at it, and you can make the determination as to how beautiful that country is." —George W. Bush, at a White House Press conference, March 29, 2001
"I've coined new words, like, misunderstanding and Hispanically." —George W. Bush, speaking at the Radio & Television Correspondents dinner, March 29, 2001
"A lot of times in the rhetoric, people forget the facts. And the facts are that thousands of small businesses — Hispanically owned or otherwise — pay taxes at the highest marginal rate." —George W. Bush, speaking to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, March 19, 2001
"But the true threats to stability and peace are these nations that are not very transparent, that hide behind the—that don't let people in to take a look and see what they're up to. They're very kind of authoritarian regimes. The true threat is whether or not one of these people decide, peak of anger, try to hold us hostage, ourselves; the Israelis, for example, to whom we'll defend, offer our defenses; the South Koreans." —George W. Bush, in a media roundtable discussion, March 13, 2001
"I do think we need for a troop to be able to house his family. That's an important part of building morale in the military." —George W. Bush, speaking at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, March 12, 2001
"I suspect that had my dad not been president, he'd be asking the same questions: How'd your meeting go with so-and-so? … How did you feel when you stood up in front of the people for the State of the Union Address—state of the budget address, whatever you call it." —George W. Bush, in an interview with the Washington Post, March 9, 2001
"Ann and I will carry out this equivocal message to the world: Markets must be open." —George W. Bush, at the swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, March 2, 2001
"My pan plays down an unprecedented amount of our national debt." —George W. Bush, in his budget address to Congress, Feb. 27, 2001
"I have said that the sanction regime is like Swiss cheese — that meant that they weren't very effective." —George W. Bush, during a White House press conference, Feb. 22, 2001
"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.'' —George W. Bush, Feb. 21, 2001
"It's good to see so many friends here in the Rose Garden. This is our first event in this beautiful spot, and it's appropriate we talk about policy that will affect people's lives in a positive way in such a beautiful, beautiful part of our national — really, our national park system, my guess is you would want to call it."—George W. Bush, Feb. 8, 2001
"We're concerned about AIDS inside our White House — make no mistake about it." —George W. Bush, Feb. 7, 2001
"There's no such thing as legacies. At least, there is a legacy, but I'll never see it." —George W. Bush, speaking to Catholic leaders at the White House, Jan. 31, 2001
"I appreciate that question because I, in the state of Texas, had heard a lot of discussion about a faith-based initiative eroding the important bridge between church and state." —George W. Bush, speaking to reporters, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2001
"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2001
"Then I went for a run with the other dog and just walked. And I started thinking about a lot of things. I was able to — I can't remember what it was. Oh, the inaugural speech, started thinking through that." —George W. Bush, in a pre-inaugural interview with U.S. News & World Report
"Redefining the role of the United States from enablers to keep the peace to enablers to keep the peace from peacekeepers is going to be an assignment." —George W. Bush, Jan. 14, 2001
"I'm hopeful. I know there is a lot of ambition in Washington, obviously. But I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure." —George W. Bush, Jan. 18, 2001
"The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants." —George W. Bush, Jan. 14, 2001
"If he's — the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a — is a noble institution I would — I would strongly reject that assumption — that John Ashcroft is a open-minded, inclusive person."—George W. Bush, Jan. 14, 2001
"She's just trying to make sure Anthony gets a good meal — Antonio." —George W. Bush, on Laura Bush inviting Justice Antonin Scalia to dinner at the White House, Jan. 14, 2001
"I want it to be said that the Bush administration was a results-oriented administration, because I believe the results of focusing our attention and energy on teaching children to read and having an education system that's responsive to the child and to the parents, as opposed to mired in a system that refuses to change, will make America what we want it to be — a more literate country and a hopefuller country." —George W. Bush, Jan. 11, 2001
"It'll be hard to articulate." —George W. Bush, anticipating how he'll feel upon assuming the presidency, Jan. 2001
"I do remain confident in Linda. She'll make a fine labor secretary. From what I've read in the press accounts, she's perfectly qualified." —George W. Bush, commenting on Linda Chavez, Jan. 8, 2001
"I mean, these good folks are revolutionizing how businesses conduct their business. And, like them, I am very optimistic about our position in the world and about its influence on the United States. We're concerned about the short-term economic news, but long-term I'm optimistic. And so, I hope investors, you know—secondly, I hope investors hold investments for periods of time — that I've always found the best investments are those that you salt away based on economics." —George W. Bush, Austin, Texas, Jan. 4, 2001
"The person who runs FEMA is someone who must have the trust of the president. Because the person who runs FEMA is the first voice, often times, of someone whose life has been turned upside down hears from." —George W. Bush, Austin, Texas, Jan. 4, 2001
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Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 23, 2004 01:48:58 PM new
Thank-you Linda! They say laughter is the best medicine, so thanks to Bunni's posts, I've been laughing my head off!
posted on April 23, 2004 08:59:18 PM new
I don't have any trouble at all understanding the President. On top of that, I get a chuckle almost every time the man opens his mouth. Who could ask for anything more in the way of communication skills?
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When a dog howls at the moon, we call it religion. When he barks at strangers, we call it patriotism. - Edward Abbey
posted on April 24, 2004 01:56:21 AM new
LOl, too Funny, bunni.
Linda, he needs to get Karen Hughes back there or someone who can write for him at a level he can express himself. He also maybe needs to stand in the mirror and practice a bit. (But somehow I get the feeling he has too much pride or false confidence to do that.)
posted on April 24, 2004 05:23:28 AM new
"This is historic times."— George W.Bush, New York, N.Y., April 20, 2004
"I didn't see -- I mean, I didn't have that great sense of outrage that I felt on September the 11th. I was -- on that day, I was angry and sad. Angry that al-Qaida -- I thought at the time al-Qaida, found out shortly thereafter it was al-Qaida -- had unleashed this attack. Sad for those who lost their life.
Your question, do I feel -- yes?" And he indicates another journalist can ask a question! ---George W. Bush, televised press conference, April 13, 2004
"You know, I just - 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." ---George W. Bush, televised press conference, April 13, 2004
"Gosh, I don't know. I mean ..." ---George W. Bush, televised press conference, April 13, 2004
"I hope - 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."
---George W. Bush, televised press conference, April 13, 2004
"Hmmm. I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it." ---George W. Bush, televised press conference, April 13, 2004
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Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 29, 2004 05:19:45 PM new
I shared a story the other day during a press conference where I talked about a dinner I had with Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. And we're eating Kobe beef. I don't know whether it's grown here in Minnesota or not, but it's real good.
-- George W.Bush, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Apr. 26, 2004
I'm working with Congress to pass the Striving Reader and Math Initiative Program, and that's a fancy word for saying we're going to intervene quickly with struggling middle-class -- middle grade and high school students.
-- George W.Bush, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Apr. 26, 2004
So that's -- what -- there's some ideas. And the -- it's -- my job is to like think beyond the immediate.
-- George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 21, 2004
There is no doubt in my mind that this country cannot achieve any objective we put our mind to.
-- GeorgeW.Bush, Buffalo, New York, Apr. 20, 2004
"Coalition forces have encountered serious violence in some areas of Iraq. Our military commanders report that this violence is being insticated by three groups." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2004 We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -- John F. Kennedy
posted on April 29, 2004 05:37:07 PM new
President Bush communicates very well and regular people know exactly what he's saying. It's good to have a plain spoken president.
It's the intellectual wannabees who nitpick about his speech.
"I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it."
It's hard to list many of kerry's statements as he's like the Energizer Bunny....goes on and on and on and on and never really answers the questions put to him. Too much bandwith...too much paper print and even the media have had to ask him to restate his position because he got too long winded for their taping.
Guess that's what happens when you can't make up your mind exactly which side of the issue you want to present to which crowd.
Taken from The Weekly Standard
AFTER TRAIN WRECKS on Meet the Press and Good Morning America, John Kerry took his tattered credibility to the friendly confines of Hardball, where a sympathetic and compliant Chris Matthews did his very best to help Kerry make it through at least one interview without wandering into bizarre asides, prolix dependent clauses, and baffling hedges.
Chris Matthews failed.
On the bizarre side of the ledger, Kerry ended the interview by bringing up the fact that Karen Hughes had been born in Paris.
Matthews was confused by this sudden turn of events and first indicated the interest that accompanies the revelation of a genuinely important fact, only to retreat into a forced laugh when Kerry indicated that he had made a joke.
The exchange of importance involved the invasion of Iraq and the WMD controversy. Here it is in its entirety:
Matthews: If there was an exaggeration of WMD, exaggeration of the danger, exaggeration implicitly of the connection to al Qaeda and 9/11, what's the motive for this, what's the "why?" Why did Bush and Cheney and the ideologues around take us to war? Why do you think they did it?
Kerry: It appears, as they peel away the weapons of mass destruction issue, and--we may yet find them, Chris. Look, I want to make it clear: Who knows if a month from now, you find some weapons. You may. But you certainly didn't find them where they said they were, and you certainly didn't find them in the quantities that they said they were. And they weren't found, and I have talked to some soldiers who have come back who trained against the potential of artillery delivery, because artillery was the way they had previously delivered and it was the only way they knew they could deliver. Now we found nothing that is evidence of that kind of delivery, so the fact is that as you peel it away I think it comes down to this larger ideological and neocon concept of fundamental change in the region and who knows whether there are other motives with respect to Saddam Hussein, but they did it because they thought they could, and because they misjudged exactly what the reaction would be and what they could get away with.
Kerry's answer is a jungle of dependent clauses and asides, but it deserves intense focus. Put aside the obvious reference to the left's theory that Bush took out Saddam to avenge Hussein's assassination attempt on the first President Bush, as well as the reference to the "neocons," which is verbal comfort food to the anti-Semitic loons in the audience. Let's take Kerry seriously for once.
Kerry acknowledges that WMD may yet be found. This admission destroys the left's critique of the war and months of "Bush lied!" rantings from the MoveOn.org swamp.
posted on May 1, 2004 10:54:34 AM new
"There's a lot of people in the world who don't believe that people whose skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern," Bush said.
"I reject that. I reject that strongly. I believe that people who practice the Muslim faith can self-govern. I believe that people whose skins aren't necessarily -- are a different color than white can self-govern."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
President Bush said that yesterday at a news conference in the Rose Garden during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.
That's one of the most ignorant things he's ever said but hasn't he mentioned "brown skinned" people before? Where does he get these ideas? If anyone else said that, they would be accused of being racist.
posted on May 1, 2004 02:24:54 PM new
I find it much easier to listen to a person say what's on their mind.
Even if they are not as articulate as they could be.
Than to read copy & pasted posts from a person who has nothing on their mind!
posted on May 5, 2004 04:00:12 AM new
I can understand the gist of what the President is trying to convey...but geez, how embarrassing! I'm surprised that after 3+ years in the job, he hasn't really improved in his speech-giving abilities.
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on May 5, 2004 09:35:59 AM new
"I did not have sex with that woman." Oh wait, wrong guy
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We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing -- Anonymous
