George W. Bush
(Born , ) '', 43rd of the ; son of George H. W. Bush, husband of Laura Welch Bush
Sourced: Arranged chronologically where a date is provided
- "You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier."
- Referring to governing Texas (Begala Is our Children Learning? citing Governing July 1998) [see also remarks of Dec. 18, 2000]
- "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
- re , Houston Chronicle April 9, 1999
- "Quotas are bad for America. It's not the way America is all about."
- St. Louis, Missouri, October 18th 2000
- "If affirmative action means what I just described, what I'm for, then I'm for it."
- St. Louis, Missouri, October 18th 2000
- "Dick Cheney and I do not want this nation to be in a recession. We want anybody who can find work to be able to find work."
- 60 Minutes II, Dec. 5, 2000
- "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier...just as long as I'm the dictator."
- Washington, DC, Dec. 18, 2000, during his first trip to Washington as President-Elect [see also remarks of July 1998]
- "Teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test."
- Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001
- "It's very important for folks to understand that when there's more trade, there's more commerce."
- Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001
- "It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency."
- June 14, 2001, to , unaware he was still on live TV
- "A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
- Referring to governing the United States, July 26, 2001
- "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."
- Referring to former Senator George Mitchell's report on Middle East peace, Crawford Texas, August 13th, 2001
- The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test. God bless.
- Statement at Barksdale Air Force Base (September 11, 2001)
- A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America— with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
- Address to the Nation (September 11, 2001)
- The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, but let me quote from the Koran, itself: In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule.
The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.
- Remarks by the President at Islamic Center, Washington, D.C. (September 17, 2001)
- "There's one terrible pilot."
- 2001 Dec 4, convention center, Orlando, Florida—what he claims to have thought about the first crash[1]
- "Well, first of all, when we walked into the classroom, I had seen this plane fly into the first building. There was a TV set on."
- 2002 Jan 5, convention center, Ontario, California[1]—there was no live broadcast of the first crash
- "I don't know where [Osama bin Laden] is [and] I am truly not that concerned about him."
- Brady briefing room, 2002 Mar 13[1]
- "After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time."
- Houston, Texas, Sep. 26, 2002
- "We'll do everything we can to remind people that we've never been a nation of conquerors."
- Roosevelt Room, 2002 Dec 4 [1]
- "In our time, respect for the right to life calls us to defend the sick and the dying, persons with disabilities and birth defects, and all who are weak and vulnerable. And this self-evident truth calls us to value and to protect the lives of innocent children waiting to be born."
- , , speaking at the at 30th Annual March for Life
- "I said you were a man of peace. I want you to know I took immense crap for that."
- "I'm the master of low expectations."
- Aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
- "The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example."
- frequently questioned even before the treatment broke
"And we base it, our history, and our decision making, our future, on solid values. The first value is, we're all God's children."
- Speaking at an atheist convention, Washington, D.C., Jul. 16, 2003
"The only thing I know for certain is that they are bad people."
- On the British detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay by the U.S. without judicial process, in meeting with British PM Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., Jul. 18, 2003
"The best way to get the news is from objective sources, and the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world."
- FOX interview w/ Brit Hume, 2003 Sep 23—cf. the chestnut that those with the king's ear have the power
"I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it."
"Saddam's rape rooms and torture chambers and children's prisons are closed forever. His mass graves will claim no victims."
- 2003 October 18, to the Philippine Congress [1]
"So what's the difference?"
- 2003 Dec 16, to Diane Sawyer, as she presses about the administration's verbiage about Iraqi WMD v the fact none were used or found class="external">[1
"They have mis-underestimated us!"
- 2003 address referring to the war on Terrorism, perhaps deliberately repeating an earlier malaprop of his own
"It's not a dictatorship in Washington, but I tried to make it one in that instance."
- Describing his executive order making faith-based groups eligible for federal subsidies, New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan. 15, 2004
"Just remember it's the birds that's supposed to suffer, not the hunter."
- Advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, N.M., Jan. 22, 2004
"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind."
- On NBC's "Meet the Press", Feb. 8, 2004
"No President has ever done more for human rights than I have."
- Ken Auletta "Fortress Bush", The New Yorker, Jan 19, 2004, p64
"I need some ribs."
- Remarks by the President to the Press Pool, Nothin' Fancy Cafe, Roswell, New Mexico -- Whitehouse Transcript[1], Office of the Press Secretary, January 22, 2004.
"There are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq."
- 2004 April 30, welcoming to the Whitehouse[1]
Inaugural Address (January 20, 2001)
- The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings.
- America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.
- We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His purpose. Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another. Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today; to make our country more just and generous; to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.
This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
remarks as yet undated: alphabetized, until they can be dated
- "Bring 'em on"
- When discussing the war on
- "I believe Men and Fish can coexist together peacfully."
- "I love freedom of speech."
- Said in reference to a protest by member during his address to the Australian Parliament
- "I support Latino-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and every-other-kind-of-person-owned businesses."
- "I'm a patient man. And when I say I'm a patient man, I mean I'm a patient man."
- "My Geordie is probably just about as bad as my English."
- Asked if he will be able to understand the accent in Tony Blair's constituency in North-East England [1]
- "There ought to be limits to freedom."
- In response to GWBush.com, a website parodying him
- "There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, it's probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on…shame on you. It fool me. We can't get fooled again."[1]
- "We're not an imperial power"
- "I think that people who are gonna commit crimes shouldn't have guns."
- An audio clip sampled by singer Tori Amos in her cover of the Beatles song "Happiness is a Warm Gun".
- "We're a peaceful nation. Yet, as we have learned, so suddenly and so tragically, there can be no peace in a world of sudden terror. In the face of today's new threat, the only way to pursue peace is to pursue those who threaten it. We did not ask for this mission, but we will fulfill it."
Frequently misattributed
- "We will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth…and rid the world of evil."
- from Woodward Bush at War; does not specify who said it
- "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God."
- Actually said by his father, George H. W. Bush in response to questions while campaigning.
External Links:
See: list of people by name |