Top Ten 2007 Bushisms

There are still twenty-one days left in 2007 and technically that is three weeks and change for the President to say something (many things) stupid, whether it be in the White House or out on the road. However, Liberal Values Blog has taken the time to put together a top ten list of the dumbest things the President has said in the last 344 days.

From Liberal Values Blog:

10. “And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it.” –interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

9. “I fully understand those who say you can’t win this thing militarily. That’s exactly what the United States military says, that you can’t win this military.” –on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007

8. “One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be.” –on military benefits, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

7. “Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit.” –addressing Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the APEC Summit. Later, in the same speech: “As John Howard accurately noted when he went to thank the Austrian troops there last year…” –referring to Australian troops as “Austrian troops,” Sept. 7, 2007

6. “My relationship with this good man is where I’ve been focused, and that’s where my concentration is. And I don’t regret any other aspect of it. And so I — we filled a lot of space together.” –on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007

5. “You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 — 1976.” –to Queen Elizabeth, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2007 (Watch video clip)

4. “The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear — I’m a Commander Guy.” –deciding he is no longer just “The Decider,” Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007 (Watch video clip)

3. “Information is moving — you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it’s also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets.” –Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007

2. “There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible.” –Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

1. “As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” –on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007 (Watch video clip)

There are so many good choices out there and LVB did give us a good selection here. I don't even know how to rate them myself, but if I had to pick my own number one, I'd have to go with either the "decider" comment or the remarks made with Queen Elizabeth at his side. Again, so many good options...where do you stand?

And Today's Bushism Is...

Faced with a mildly hostile Congress, record disapproval ratings and leading a war that is going miserably, what is a President to do? Well, if you are George Bush you might want to say something stupid to deflect people from the problems you've created. There are plenty of "bushisms" out there already, but he decided to add another. Here's today's quote and to be fair, the context of it as well.

From RawStory:

REPORTER: Mr. President, you came down so hard on Burma and other nations for their crackdowns on pro-democracy demonstrators, yet you seem to be giving Musharraf a pass. So, the question is: Why are you going so soft on Musharraf? Is there a double-standard?

BUSH: I spoke to President Musharraf right before I came over here to visit President Sarkozy, and, uh, my message was that we believe strongly--in elections, and you ought to have elections soon. And you need to take off your uniform.

You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time.

So I had a very frank discussion with him. Look: Our objective is the same in Burma as it is in Pakistan, and that is to promote democracy. There is a difference, however: Pakistan has been on the path to democracy. Burma hadn't been on the path to democracy, and it requires different tactics to achieve the common objective. And, uh, as I told you, I just spoke to President Musharraf before I came here and my message was very plain, very easy to understand, and that is: "The United States wants you to have the elections as scheduled, and take your uniform off."

Not only did he create a new Bushism, he continued to lie about the double standard between Pakistan and Burma. He also demonstrates he has no idea about who is on what path to democracy in either country. Supporting a dictator with a billion dollars a year to do almost nothing is Bush's idea of someone who respects the rule of law (even though Musharraf doesn't give a damn) while the U.S. does next to nothing to help free the immensely popular Aung Suu Kyi.

People call him stupid, moronic and incompetent, but it takes real skill to say and do all the terrible and stupid things throughout his Presidency. Oh and by the way, having the office of President entails the job of being the Commander-in-Chief in case you didn't know.

Get Ready To Cringe

Keith Olbermann shows the video from Tipp City, Ohio where Bush made an utter fool of himself. The things that came out of his mouth were classic bushisms to say the least:

Bush Makes A Fool Of Himself....Again

George Bush's handlers go to extraordinary lengths to mask his lack of coherency when he speaks freely. It sounds fake when he parrots the right-wing talking points, but at least it is consistent with the garbage that they all spew. Yesterday White House officials forgot to bring George's leash in Tipp City, Ohio and things went awry. He talked for 90 minutes about anything and everything, even admitting a similarity between Iraq and Vietnam.

Here are some highlights care of the Huffington Post:

_"Politics comes and goes, but your principles don't. And everybody wants to be loved _ not everybody. ... You never heard anybody say, `I want to be despised, I'm running for office.'"

_"The best thing about my family is my wife. She is a great first lady. I know that sounds not very objective, but that's how I feel. And she's also patient. Putting up with me requires a lot of patience."

_"There are jobs Americans aren't doing. ... If you've got a chicken factory, a chicken-plucking factory, or whatever you call them, you know what I'm talking about."

_"There are some similarities, of course" between Iraq and Vietnam. "Death is terrible."

_"I've been in politics long enough to know that polls just go poof at times."

As he has before, Bush told the story about how his first presidential decision was to pick a rug for the Oval Office, a task he quickly cast to his wife. He told her to make sure the rug reflected optimism "because you can't make decisions unless you're optimistic that the decisions you make will lead to a better tomorrow."

Later, when he talked about his hope for succeeding in Iraq, Bush said, "Remember the rug?"

Those saying always give me this weird feeling that mixes amusement and irritation all at once. If he was locked in an insane asylum, then the musing would just be pathetically funny. The fact that he is running the United States off of a cliff while making jokes on the way down irritates the shit out of me.