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The Deluxe Election Edition Bushisms: The First Term, in His Own Special Words

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George W. Bush's verbal gaffes are both highly entertaining and extremely troublesome. Not since Ronald Reagan (well, actually Dan Quayle) has there been an American leader who has been elected to the nation's highest office despite his thorough mangling of the English language.

As in the previous editions of "Bushisms", Weisberg had his work cut out for him. He probably didn't have to do too much research to find plenty of material with which to fill the pages of this latest edition. And if Bush's public appearances weren't controlled to the extent that they are by the people around him, he would undoubtedly have even more material with which to fill several more volumes.

I'd really recommend reading Weisberg's preface to the book, which very astutely addresses the issue of W's alleged stupidity, in a way that I haven't heard expressed before. Weisberg states that it is not that W is inherently stupid, but rather he chose stupidity through a life filled with privilege and prestige. After all, when life has come easy, what incentive was there for him to think deeply about any issue or challenge any previously held belief?

In fact, when you look at W's life, it almost comically conforms to a stereotype of the spoiled rich brat who gets everything handed to him on a silver platter. However, I'd argue even further that W's problem is not one so much of stupidity, but shallowness.

Even his discovery of Jesus at age 40 with help of the Rev. Billy Graham - something that has endeared him to the born-again crowd - seems oddly superficial. As Weisberg states, Bush's old answer to hard questions was, "I don't know and, who cares." His new answer was, "Wait a second while I check with Jesus." Bush's statements about how Jesus changed his heart (but apparently not his brain) are of a piece with the thinking of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and others of their ilk. They probably have the entire Bible committed to memory, but still haven't a clue what any of it really means.

I would wager that most thinking people would be mortified if some of the things that have come out of George W's mouth attributed were attributed to them in print. However, I would doubt that the existence of this book causes him much embarrassment. Indeed, as Weisberg states, there's a shocking way in which W almost wears his lack of knowledge as a badge of honor.

Washington Post op-ed columnist Richard Cohen once remarked about Ronald Reagan that he believed that his public policy positions were true because they ought to be true. So it is with W. (tax cuts, evidence of Iraq's nuclear weapons, among many other issues). The man is blissfully ignorant. And the American people are paying the price.

I bought this book because of its entertainment value. And then I wept...a lot.

1. To the conservative whose review will appear a couple below this: This is a book review, not a place for your political treatise (though you seem to have lost the knowledge that the writer of this little gem isn't making this up - "the Shrub" really has said these things, ya' know). Please keep your ill - informed opinions to yourself, unless using the appropriate forum. We liberals really CAN read well - sometimes we even understand the words. And we don't use every forum we get our hands on to insult people not agreeing with us, unlike...

2. This is a funny book, truly.

3. I use the term "methinks" quite frequently, and I don't at all like what's happening with our country. So, I don't think it's that, really. :)

Thank you.

While most politicians make more than their share of 'misstatements', no one does it with more panache or better neologisms than W. While there are quotes that border on scary, generally this is the sort of silliness we could all use in an election year when we'll almost certainly get more verbiage than substance. And may the Higher Powers protect us from having pseudo-intellectual poseurs who use "methinks" in their reviews decide the 2004 election.

W. is a living proof that democracy produces mediocrity. With American democracy we are getting extremely dangerous mediocrity.
This book should be a wake up call to all Americans, particularly to those 70% who are too lazy to vote! Please America, get a life, get an education, the world cannot be lead by morons!
Excellent reading. Strongly recommended.

The Bushisms herein are hysterically funny, but also fascinating in what they reveal about how Bush thinks, and the things that he apparently does not know. It's certainly worth a read -- you'll find yourself sharing your favorites over and over. For your sense of well-being, though, I suggest you try to forget that he's the guy with the keys to our nuclear arsenal.

From time to time, my friends and I have engaged in imitating our president's, er, style. I recall when Bush finally admitted to having "miscalculated" when planning our post-invasion strategy in Iraq. I imagined he might make a statement like this:

"We may have misunderestimated the responsiveness our troops would receptively experience, which after all was commisserate with the disparaging between a nation guided by the Almighty, and cowardly killers that kill when faced by them, the troops, that is... um, by the Iraqis. Not all Iraqis... it's just that when we set out to do a job -- and I want to be very clear about this -- we did one, and if that means we have to take some militaristic action, I'm all for it, in terms of terror and what's necessary to disabling it combatively. I mean, if errors have to necessitatively be made with respect to our accuracy, then I'm all for it if, in the larger picture, the larger sense, I mean, when the questions of the future are asked about force and those who fought it in the name of peace, I will always, and I mean ALWAYS, say that I did, and I am very proud of every one of you to have representated the fight against it."

I used to laugh at Bush's verbal gaffes too, but seldom is the question asked, is there something wrong with the man? Has he fallen off the wagon? Is his brain fried? Mine would be if I kept up the party-boy lifestyle I had as a college undergrad until I was 40. Think about it, wouldn't your brain be toast too after decades of alcohol and possibly cannibus and poppi abuse? Consider, in the August 2004 timeframe alone, Bush: > stammered some hysterically incomprehensible gibberish about tribal sovereignty to a group of native american journalists. Though it doesn't make for a good Bushism "sound byte" his incomprehensible, rambling, ad hoc answer was funny (there's a Quicktime video of this on the web...) Until you realize how remarkabley unprepared he was. His reply to a straightforward soft ball question also was offensive to native americans, who can actually be heard gasping in the background when his answer implied that native americans were "given" their sovereignty by the US government. > Actually, really, said, "Our enemies will never stop seeking ways to harm our country and its people, AND NEITHER WILL WE!" durning a press conference where he signed a $400 billion plus dollar military appropriation. Doh! > Last but not least, made a mega-freudian-faux pax on the campaing trail in front of thousands when he said something to the effect that... "we must not stop OB/GYN doctors from spreading their love of woman across the country." HA-HA-Huh?! Bear in mind, these >all occured around a one month period<! Also consider that these gaffes come from professionally prepared, written speeches in most cases! All's he has to do is read off a frigg'n sheet of paper! Now, even if Bush was articulate there's a thousand reasons why I wouldn't vote for him. In fact, this will be the first presidential election I absolutely plan to vote in, I embarrassingly admit, ever! This administration has been an unmitigated disaster for this country. However, making its way up the "reasons against" column in terms of relative importance is the concern about the man's mental stability, and past substance abuse issues, as evident in these all too frequent "Bushisms". Is the guy mentally fit to be the leader of the free world? It's not like the list of Bushisms is half-a-dozen. There's enough material here, literally, for a book! These so-called "Bushisms" are symptomatic of far greater problems, at least to me, at this point. In fact, they explain a lot.

For the person here who, instead of saying anything about the book itself, goes on and on about why democrats are idiots, I suggest you watch Farenheit 9/11. It sure had a lot to say that "methinks" you might find interesting. If you are such a big supporter of Bush, then why not learn as much as possible from every angle? I'm not claiming the film is completely and utterly accurate, only Bush himself knows for sure, but it sure is convincing.

Oh yes, one more question. Are you voting for Bush because you fully understand and support every action he has taken and plans to take? Do you keep yourself that well informed? Or are you voting for him simply because you are republican?

As for the book, why can't we laugh at our president's verbal misfortunes? I think it's hilarious.

Pay no attention to the idiot that left the review "Jealousy is a Horrible Thing, May 31, 2004"...this coward did not even use a real name.

Hey coward...why do we have to use policy to defend this book? This is not made up...these are direct quotes of the Texas Village Idiot himself in action! It is not the author's fault that DUB-YA never learned to read or write!

I still find these quotes hysterical. ONLY THE BOOK THOUGH. The fact that this guy is really our president is discouraging to say the least.

I love the funny quotes but now I want a book that lists his LIES along with the accurate truths/facts right alongside!!


Get this book and let it help you vote for the right man...KERRY!

This collection makes for some funny conversations. I have read this book outloud to friends whose comments usually include "Did he really say that?" I took this book with me on a trip and found it to be a light (although scary) book to read while standing in line. It is good to laugh when we feel like crying.

The intro to this book provides a good background to what is a common and almost played-out joke--almost because Bush continues to break out new ways to use the English language with regularity.

Some of the quotes in here...I just can't understand it, and I would honestly be willing to believe that at this point, Bush is coached on some things, and his 'Bushisms' are not entirely accidental. They may even help him.

There is an effort to craft George W. Bush into another type of Ronald Reagan--a charismatic, amiable but clueless man who can deflect criticism elsewhere. After all, Reagan is a man who barely understood what was happening under his own administration. Bush, as far as vision and policy go, is pretty much irrelevant. He's a perfect choice for the party, acting like a mouthpiece, incapable of remembering what his handlers told him to recite, and yet gaining popular support because he's a 'manager' and a 'leader', etc, all piled on with enough rhetoric to satisfy the many folks who are actuall being shafted by the Prez and those who are really running things in Washington.

By the time Bush II is done, there may well be an encyclopedia set dedicated to his unique brand of English. In the end though, books like this are just novelty, and perhaps these days they are best left alone, so the morbidly curious can just check out websites like Slate that devote much space to cataloguing the wisdom of George W. Bush.