The spread of phony "Bushism"

[Nie Trink Wasser]

http://www.spinsanity.com/

The cataloguing of the verbal gaffes of President Bush - the so-called "Bushisms" - has been popularized since the 2000 campaign by Slate editor Jacob Weisberg. But as UCLA law professor and blogger Eugene Volokh and the Weekly Standard have pointed out, a number of these alleged gaffes are taken out of context by Weisberg and others to exaggerate verbal tics and poor word choices.

A case in point is Bush's January 29 statement that "The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein and his willingness to terrorize himself," which was flagged by Weisberg the next day and has been used to ridicule Bush in the weeks since.

In context, however, the meaning of what Bush said is different than it first appears:

The war on terror is not confined strictly to the al Qaeda that we're chasing. The war on terror extends beyond just a shadowy terrorist network. 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. Saddam Hussein has terrorized his own people. He's terrorized his own neighborhood. He is a danger not only to countries in the region, but as I explained last night, because of al Qaeda connections, because of his history, he's a danger to the American people. And we've got to deal with him. We've got to deal with him before it is too late.

Originally posted by Nie Trink Wasser
http://www.spinsanity.com/


We KNOW what he was trying to say. Putting it in context may make the gaffe's meaning decipherable, but it's still a gaffe, and it's still funny.

What president before Bush has needed spin doctors coming up with arguments for why he's not really an idiot?

[Nie Trink Wasser]

What president before Bush has needed spin doctors coming up with arguments for why he's not really an idiot?


Clinton

Originally posted by Nie Trink Wasser



Clinton

Nice predictable answer, but you can't back it up.

[Nie Trink Wasser]

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is"
- excerpts from Bill Clinton's grand jury testimony

----------------

"She is here with us today," the president declared, speaking of Halvorsen. "I'd like to ask her to stand."

Gail Halvorsen then stood up - Mr. Gail Halvorsen, a 77-year old grandfather.

"Thank you, Sir, " said Clinton

----------------

"The last time I checked, the Constitution said, 'of the people, by the people and for the people.' That's what the Declaration of Independence says."
President Bill Clinton, campaigning October 17, 1996. From a campaign speech given in California. Quoted in Investor's Business Daily October 25, 1996

That's hilarious. The first quote might be evidence of dissembling but not of stupidity.

So you have ONE malaprop for Clinton matched up against a ZILLION for Bush? Sure, that's good evidence.

There were never any spin doctors saying "Clinton isn't an idiot", which was the assertion, if you'll remember, and you can't prove it; you can't come up with a single example.

[rikzilla]

Originally posted by sundog
That's hilarious. The first quote might be evidence of dissembling but not of stupidity.

So you have ONE malaprop for Clinton matched up against a ZILLION for Bush? Sure, that's good evidence.

There were never any spin doctors saying "Clinton isn't an idiot", which was the assertion, if you'll remember, and you can't prove it; you can't come up with a single example.

"ah nevah had sexual relations....with that woman...miss Lewinsky..."

Never since Richard Nixon has a US president appeared on TV and told such a bald faced lie.

Clinton had no integrity....no wonder he's your hero.

-z

Originally posted by rikzilla


"ah nevah had sexual relations....with that woman...miss Lewinsky..."

Never since Richard Nixon has a US president appeared on TV and told such a bald faced lie.

Clinton had no integrity....no wonder he's your hero.

-z

Rik, you are seriously losin' it, buddy.

We are discussing stupidity here, not honesty.

Is this "troll" day for you, or what?

As far as I know, no one at this forum except you doubts my integrity, and your reasons are rather obvious.

[corplinx]

I think the point that the spinsanity piece is making is that Bush's critics are going overboard looking for gaffes because they have an agenda.

Bush has had plenty of obvious gaffes without having to take things out of context to make him look like a moron.

Originally posted by corplinx
I think the point that the spinsanity piece is making is that Bush's critics are going overboard looking for gaffes because they have an agenda.


Probably true. But I think if things were turned around, the situation would be very similar, don't you? :)

[Ian Osborne]

Reagan was notorious for gaffes, eg. 'America has a lot to offer the Third World War' (he meant Third World).

There are others I'll share if I can remember them

[dsm]

Originally posted by rikzilla

Never since Richard Nixon has a US president appeared on TV and told such a bald faced lie.


"Read my lips -- no new taxes."

;)

[wert]

Here's the link to the list of Bushisms so that folks can decide for themselves how "phony" they are.

Notice that it's a very long list. :)

http://slate.msn.com/id/76886/

A few of my faves.


"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

"Will the highways on the Internet become more few?"—Concord, N.H., Jan. 29, 2000

"We ought to make the pie higher."—South Carolina Republican Debate, Feb. 15, 2000

"I understand small business growth. I was one."—New York Daily News, Feb. 19, 2000

"Reading is the basics for all learning."—Announcing his "Reading First" initiative in Reston, Va., March 28, 2000 (Thanks to Carl LaRocca.)

GOV. BUSH: Because the picture on the newspaper. It just seems so un-American to me, the picture of the guy storming the house with a scared little boy there. I talked to my little brother, Jeb—I haven't told this to many people. But he's the governor of—I shouldn't call him my little brother--my brother, Jeb, the great governor of Texas.

JIM LEHRER: Florida.

GOV. BUSH: Florida. The state of the Florida.—The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, April 27, 2000

"I think we agree, the past is over."—On his meeting with John McCain, Dallas Morning News, May 10, 2000

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."--Reuters, May 5, 2000 (Thanks to Allison Fansler.)



Funny stuff no matter how you slice it. :)

[dsm]

You think he was paying too much attention to his father's vice president? :D

http://www.xmission.com/~mwalker/DQ/#QUOTES

[aerosolben]

It seems the gaffes (those here, and those I can remember) for Reagan, Clinton, and Bush follow distinctly different styles:

Reagan: Senile
Switching nouns for other nouns. Forgetting words, what day it is, etc.

Clinton: Misreads
Reads the wrong thing, realizes it, and covers.

Bush: Grammar
Fails to use grammatical rules correctly: doesn't match case, number, pronoun use, etc.

Not the best synopsis, but perhaps you see what I'm getting at?

[crackmonkey]

That Clinton is a compulsive liar?

[Tricky]

Originally posted by aerosolben
It seems the gaffes (those here, and those I can remember) for Reagan, Clinton, and Bush follow distinctly different styles:

Reagan: Senile
Switching nouns for other nouns. Forgetting words, what day it is, etc.

Clinton: Misreads
Reads the wrong thing, realizes it, and covers.

Bush: Grammar
Fails to use grammatical rules correctly: doesn't match case, number, pronoun use, etc.

Not the best synopsis, but perhaps you see what I'm getting at?
Oh Reagan was a HOOT! He had so many gaffes, especially in his later years, that his handlers would rarely let him speak without a script. Nancy used to stand near him and prompt him when he forgot what he was saying.

One of my favorites is when he tried to give the Congressional Medal of Honor to a heroic soldier. Problem was, the millitary had no record of him, and Reagan couldn't remember his name. Finally it was tracked down that the soldier was in a piece of fiction appearing in Reagan's favorite reference book, Reader's Digest.

There is an excellent book called The Clothes Have No Emperor that looks back in humor and astonisment at the Reagan years.

[Troll]

Bush makes stupid little mistakes all the time. He even ackowledged and laughed at that fact when he gave a speech, without mistakes, at Harvard. One thing the man hasn't done yet? Lie. I'll take integrity over speech issues any day of the year.

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Troll
Bush makes stupid little mistakes all the time. He even ackowledged and laughed at that fact when he gave a speech, without mistakes, at Harvard. One thing the man hasn't done yet? Lie. I'll take integrity over speech issues any day of the year.
Oh, Bush has done plenty of lying, like how he was a successful businessman (every business he ever ran failed, or he was bailed out by family friends), how he "passed a patient's bill of rights" in Texas (he vetoed it and then claimed credit for it when it was passed over his veto), his whereabouts during some of his supposed millitary service (the base where he claims to be has no record of him being there).

Hi simply hasn't lied about sex, so I guess he's okay.

[Nie Trink Wasser]

Originally posted by sundog
That's hilarious. The first quote might be evidence of dissembling but not of stupidity.

So you have ONE malaprop for Clinton matched up against a ZILLION for Bush? Sure, that's good evidence.

There were never any spin doctors saying "Clinton isn't an idiot", which was the assertion, if you'll remember, and you can't prove it; you can't come up with a single example.



maybe you should learn how to read and control your emotional text outbursts.

there are actually THREE quotes there.

I don't feel like posting more Clinton quotes that make him look like the phony ole ******* he is, because there are websites full of them. If you're interested go look for yourself.

your pal,

WASSER

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Nie Trink Wasser
I don't feel like posting more Clinton quotes that make him look like the phony ole ******* he is, because there are websites full of them. If you're interested go look for yourself.

Okay, I looked. The highly scientific method known as googlefight (http://www.googlefight.com/) yields the following data:
---------------
Clinton's gaffes - 14 hits
Bush's gaffes - 90 hits

Clinton is stupid - 26 hits
Bush is stupid - 1010 hits

Clinton's quotes - 370 hits
Bush's quotes - 3990 hits
----------------
Your political views are your own, but you cannot deny that Bush is perceived as much more stupid than Clinton.

[Segnosaur]

Originally posted by dsm


"Read my lips -- no new taxes."

;)

You misunderstand... Bush never actually said "No New Taxes". He actually said "No Newt Axes".

It was part of his failed bill to take axes and other weapons away from Newts and other amphibians.

[Smalso]

"I, George W. Bush, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of The United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of The United States."

[Thumper]

No new taxes.
-George HW Bush

This is not a lie. Come on, people. He changed his mind when he discovered that raising taxes, in that case, was going to help America. You can accuse him of waffling, but calling this a lie is not correct.


Furthermore, to expect people to speak perfectly in front of the media is unreal. Every president, vice president, politician, etc. has made some verbal "gaffes". They are human.

[Doctor X]

I recall with fondness poor Jimmy Carter speaking before a Polish crowd. Apparently, "his people" did not bother to check on whether or not his translator could actually translate. Thus:

"I have left Washington. . . ."

became

"I have abandoned Washington. . . ."

and

"I have great love for the Polish people. . . ."

or somesuch became

"I want to have sex with the Polish people. . . ."

Me Dad, listening, was fairly fluent in Polish, but called his Mum to ask, "did he just say what I think he just said?"

As for Reagan, even he told a story about a major gaff. I believe it was in Mexico. He gave a speech which did not exactly bring the house down. He sat down, feeling rather sheepish and disappointed. Another man got up and started a thunderous oratory in Spanish. The crowd and dignitaries applauded, stood, clapped, 'n all of that. Impressed by the reaction--and not wanting to seem rude--Reagan joined in with the vigorous applause. . . .

. . . until someone told him, "Sir, I would not do that, he is translating your speech."

--J. "I Am a Jelly Donut" D.

[dsm]

Originally posted by Thumper
No new taxes.
-George HW Bush

This is not a lie. Come on, people. He changed his mind when he discovered that raising taxes, in that case, was going to help America. You can accuse him of waffling, but calling this a lie is not correct.


Oh, come on. GHWB had been in federal service for 8 years as vice president and many more in various manners before that. He should've been very aware of how the government works by 1988 and, therefore, should've known right from the beginning that this was not likely to be something he could carry through on. Therefore, he was either very dumb or he knowingly lied.

http://weber.ucsd.edu/~vcrawfor/Royko.html


Furthermore, to expect people to speak perfectly in front of the media is unreal. Every president, vice president, politician, etc. has made some verbal "gaffes". They are human.


It depends upon how many "gaffes" and how well the person recovers from it. After all, the president is the face of the nation to the rest of the world and, so, must be able to present a good face. Too many "gaffes" can make him look less intelligent and, thus, make it more difficult for him to be credible in difficult negotiations with world leaders.

[subgenius]

Details Given on Contract Halliburton Was Awarded
By ELIZABETH BECKER


WASHINGTON, April 10 — The Pentagon contract given without competition to a Halliburton subsidiary to fight oil well fires in Iraq is worth as much as $7 billion over two years, according to a letter from the Army Corps of Engineers that was released today.

The contract also allows Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary, to earn as much as 7 percent profit. That could amount to $490 million
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/business/11REBU.html?ex=1050638400&en=8e3c238766503e7b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[Troll]

Originally posted by sundog
That's hilarious. The first quote might be evidence of dissembling but not of stupidity.

So you have ONE malaprop for Clinton matched up against a ZILLION for Bush? Sure, that's good evidence.

There were never any spin doctors saying "Clinton isn't an idiot", which was the assertion, if you'll remember, and you can't prove it; you can't come up with a single example.

when you asked Nie Trink Wasser to back it up, you never specified with how many. So he immediately gives you an example and your argument changes to numbers?