George W. Bushisms: The Slate Book of Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Our 43rd President

by Jacob Weisberg

Overview

"They misunderestimated me."

Or did they?

Judge for yourself. Here are over 100 memorable misstatements by our syntactically challenged president, collected, annotated, and introduced by Slate magazine's Jacob Weisberg.

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

"We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."

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

"I do know I'm ready for the job [the presidency].
And if not, that's just the way it goes."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780743222228
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	659,055
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Jacob Weisberg is the editor of Slate magazine and three previous editions of Bushisms. He lives in New York City.

Read an Excerpt

From George W. Bushisms

CONVICTION

"I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can't answer your question."

— Reynoldsburg, Ohio, October 4, 2000

TRUST

"There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.'"

— Boston, Massachusetts, October 3, 2000

"Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."

— CNN online chat, August 30, 2000

MR. BUSH'S NEIGHBORHOOD

"We must all hear the universal call to like your neighbor just like you like to be liked yourself."

— Financial Times, January 14, 2000

TIME

"The best way to relieve families from time is to let them keep some of their own money."

— Westminster, California, September 13, 2000

FAITH

"Our priorities is our faith."

— Greensboro, North Carolina, October 10, 2000

"We have practically banished religious values and religious institutions from the public square and constructed a 'discountfort zone' for even discussing our faith in public settings."

— Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 9, 2000

FAMILY "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

— La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 18, 2000

ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY WON'T HOLD STILL

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

— Nashua, New Hampshire, January 27, 2000

GIST FOR THE MILL

"I thought how proud I am to be standing up beside my dad. Never did it occur to me that he would become the gist for cartoonists."

— Newsweek, February 28, 2000

Copyright © 2001 by Jacob Weisberg

Editorial Reviews

It hasn't gone unnoticed that President George W. Bush's oratorical skills are less than superb. Throughout the campaign his grasp of the English language seemed tenuous at best, and his frequent speaking mishaps drew a flurry of late-night talk show jests. While some folks were threatening to flee the country if Bush's bid for the presidency was successful, others were gleefully recording his every mangled word. George W. Bushisms compiles all of President Bush's darkest public-speaking moments, from the much-publicized "terriers and bariffs" fiasco to lesser-known but equally hilarious speech snafus you may have missed.

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