(Former) Presidents Say the Darndest Things

- Nostradamus

"They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program."

~ George W. Bush
Social security reformer

(When asked what the White House is like by a student at Morningside Primary School in East London ) "It is white."

~ George W. Bush
Not color-blind

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(When asked what Independence Day meant to him on a visit to the Jefferson memorial): "It means what these words say, for starters. The great inalienable rights of our country. We're blessed with such values in America. And I - it's - I'm a proud man to be the nation based upon such wonderful values."

~ George W. Bush
Proud and inalienable

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"The best of America occurs when people walk up and say, Mr. President, I'm praying for you."

~ George W. Bush
In need of prayer

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"I want to thank you for coming to the White House to give me an opportunity to urge you to work with these five senators and three congressmen, to work hard to get this trade promotion authority moving. The power that be, well most of the power that be, sits right here."

~ George W. Bush
Sitting on the power that be

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"There's nothing more inspiring than instilling in people the will to do away with leaders who were done away with decades ago. We can build an open Europe -- a Europe without Hitler and Stalin, without Brezhnev and Honecker and Ceaucescu and, yes, without Milosevic."

~ George W. Bush
Who was not done away with in 2004

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"Europe should have more countries."

~ George W. Bush
World traveler

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"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease"

~ George W. Bush
A man who thinks "continents - countries - what's the difference?"

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"I haven't had a chance to talk, but I'm confident we'll get a bill that I can live with if we don't…. Can't living with the bill means it won't become law"

~ George W. Bush
A president we have been living with

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"Russia is no longer our enemy and therefore we shouldn't be locked into a Cold War mentality that says we keep the peace by blowing each other up. In my attitude, that's old, that's tired, that's stale."

~ George W. Bush
Tired of blowing each other up

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"I'm gracious that my brother Jeb is concerned about the hemisphere as well."

~ George W. Bush
Fan of the band The Gracious Dead

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From an interview printed in The New York Times, 6/6/01:

Q. What do you find most frustrating about the job?
A. "That it's hard to run out of the White House and jog on the mall."
Q. Have you ever done that?
A. "No. That's why I find it frustrating. I am not a frustrated person. I'm content about the job, pleased with the progress we're making. You asked about frustration. I am content."

~ George W. Bush
Content to be frustrated

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"To the 'C' students, I say to you: you, too, can be president of the United States."

~ George W. Bush
Former "C" student

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(From a commencement speech at Yale): "If you're like me you won't remember everything you did here"

~ George W. Bush
Former frat party boy

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On the Kyoto accord: "First, we would not accept a treaty that would not have been ratified, nor a treaty that I thought made sense for the country."

~ George W. Bush
Sensible

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(Refusing to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas): "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."

~ George W. Bush
Bi-linguist

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"One of the failures...I'm gonna...I won't call it 'failures'...efficiencies in our system--oftentimes our teachers are not taught to teach a curriculum that works."

~ George W. Bush
Education advocate

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"The role of government is to create an environment that encourages Hispanic-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, anybody-kind-of-owned businesses."

~ George W. Bush
Who owned several failed businesses

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"Our hemisphere, by the way, is not going to be an afterthought for this administration."

~ George W. Bush
On second thought

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"A sure way to make sure this economy gets drug down is to overspend."

~ George W. Bush
Not in favor of any drugging down

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"My pan plays down an unprecedented amount of our national debt."

~ George W. Bush
Twongue tister

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"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well."

~ George W. Bush
Watching out for Clinton and the rest

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"I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure."

~ George W. Bush
Successful politician

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"Redefining the role of the United States from enablers to keep the peace to enablers to keep the peace from peacekeepers is going to be an assignment."

~ George W. Bush
Peacemaker

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"The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants."

~ George W. Bush
Powerful man

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"I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate children."

~ George W. Bush
Anti-profiler

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"I will have a foreign-handed foreign policy."

~ George W. Bush
Foreign policy handler

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"We cannot let terriers and rogue nations hold this nation hostile."

~ George W. Bush
Holding the dogs at bay

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"The ground grounds me."

~ George W. Bush
Well-grounded

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"There's a lot of people in the Middle East who are desirous to get into the Mitchell process. …But first things first. 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."

~ George W. Bush
Articulator of U.S. foreign policy

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"Justice ought to be fair."

~ George W. Bush
A man who is proud to be just fair in most things.

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""We're never been stay the course, George."

~ George W. Bush
A man who will not flop-flip.
." Interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Oct. 22, 2006

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"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country."

~ George W. Bush
The Man in Charge of the US Economy

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"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

~ George W. Bush
Commander in Chief

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"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."

~ George W. Bush
Not a Former Math Major or Boy Scout

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"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

~ George W. Bush
The Once and Future President

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"The future will be better tomorrow."

~ George W. Bush
ibid

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"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."

~ George W. Bush
The Education President

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"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."

~ George W. Bush
President of the United States and Europe

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"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."

~ George W. Bush
Astute Politician

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"For NASA, space is still a high priority."

~ George W. Bush
Space Cadet

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"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."

~ George W. Bush
ibid

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"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."

~ George W. Bush
Leaving No Child Behind

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"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

~ George W. Bush
Compassionate Environmentalist

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"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."

~ George W. Bush
Nobody's Fool

— Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

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

~ George W. Bush
Chief Executive Officer of the USA
Reuters, May 5, 2000

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"I view our nuclear arsenal as a deterrent, as a way to say to people that would harm America, don't do it. That's a deterrent. That there's a consequence. And the president must have all options available to make that deterrent have meaning."

- George W. Bush
Statesman

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"Zimbabwe. We do not recognize the outcome of the election because we think it's flawed. And we are dealing with and we are dealing with our friends to figure out how to deal with this flawed election."

~ George W. Bush
Runner-up in the popular election for president, 2000 A.D.

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"See, we love - we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love."

~ George W. Bush
Lover

-Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002

~ George W. Bush
A patient man

-Crawford, Texas; August 21, 2002

~ George W. Bush
A man who feeds himself

-Stockton, California; August 23, 2002

~ George W. Bush
Homeland Security Chief's Boss

-Stockton, California; August 23, 2002

~ George W. Bush
Wordsmith

-Stockton, California; August 23, 2002

~ George W. Bush
Labor advocate and newspaper-reader
—Austin, Texas; January 8, 2001

~ George W. Bush
Labor advocate and newspaper-reader
—Austin, Texas; January 8, 2001

~ George W. Bush
The Man Who Wasn't There
—Waco, Texas, August 13, 2002

~ George W. Bush
White Man
—Washington, D.C.; November 8, 2001

~ George W. Bush
Smooth Talker

—Waco, Texas, August 13, 2002

~ George W. Bush
Opportunist

— Santa Clara, Calif., May 1, 2002

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"I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I assured all four of these leaders that I know the difference, and that difference is they pass the laws and I execute them."

~ George W. Bush
Chief Executioner Officer

— Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2000

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"The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job to interpret law."

~ George W. Bush
Interpreter

— Austin, Texas; Nov. 22, 2000

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"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber."

~ George W. Bush
Republican President with a Democrat-controlled Senate

— Washington, D.C., April 10, 2002

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"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."

- George W. Bush
Leader of the world's greatest democracy

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"This is still a dangerous world. It’s a world full of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses."

~ George W. Bush
43rd President of the United States

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"How many hands have I shaked?"

~ George W. Bush
Latecomer to politics

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"Will the highways of the Internet become more few?"

~ George W. Bush
Chief executive of the most technologically advanced nation in the world

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"They misunderestimate me."

~ George W. Bush
Spokesman for the Republican Party

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"I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity."

~ George W. Bush
Top Dog in Washington D.C.

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"I know that the human being and the fish can co-exist."

~ George W. Bush
Self-proclaimed environmentalist

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"Rarely is the question asked, “Is our children learning?”

~ George W. Bush
Education advocate

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"I do believe Ariel Sharon is a man of peace."

- George W. Bush
Potential negotiator between the Palestinians and Israelis

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"I think we all agree, the past is over."

~ George W. Bush
Former Once-and-Future President

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"Put food on your family. Knock down the tollbooth. Vulcanize society. Make the pie higher."

~ George W. Bush
The most powerful man in the universe.

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

~ George W. Bush
Son of a one-term president

LaCrosse, Wis; October 18, 2000

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"The true greatness of America are the people."

~ George W. Bush
Yale graduate

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"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe, I believe, what I believe is right."

~ George W. Bush
Believer

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"We're making the right decisions to bring the solution to an end."

~ George W. Bush
Where the buck stops

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"I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have guns."

~ George W. Bush
Texan

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"If a person doesn't have the capacity that we want a person to have, I suspect hope is in the far distant future, if at all."

~ George W. Bush
Visionary

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"I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. And that difference is: They pass laws and I execute them."

~ George W. Bush
Preserver, Protector and Defender of the Constitution

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"There ought to be limits to freedom."

~ George W. Bush
Leader of the Free World

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"...when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not - to uphold the laws of the land."

- George W. Bush
America's chief law enforcement officer

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"Our enemies fear a society which is pluralistic and open to worship an almighty God."

- George W. Bush
Devout church-goer

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"And that's why yesterday the Secretary of Treasury and I both said that we need to have more stimulants available."

- George W. Bush
Anti-drug activist

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"I don't have anthrax."

- George W. Bush
Healthy politician

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"The press often ask me, well, is this the - is the evil one hiding from us in Afghanistan, the ones who have done this to America? I said, I don't know."

- George W. Bush
Leader of the world war on terrorism

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"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test."

- George W. Bush
Husband of the nation's leading literacy advocate

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"...Obviously, we've all been depressed by the acts of heroism."

- George W. Bush
Optimist

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"It is important that we stay the course, bring these people to justice, to show - and show others how to fight the new wars of the 21st century."

- George W. Bush
Commander-in-Chief

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"Our nation must come together to unite."

- George W. Bush
Wielder of the Bully Pulpit

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"There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons."

- George W. Bush
The world leader with more weapons than anybody.
—South Bend, Ind., Sept. 5, 2002

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"And there's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail. Failure is not a part of our vocabulary."

- George W. Bush
Spokesman for the nation

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"More and more of our imports come from overseas."

- George W. Bush
Economic pundit

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"My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the-in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen."

~ George W. Bush
America's chief diplomat

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"Let me tell you my thoughts about tax relief. When your economy is kind of ooching along, it's important to let people have more of their own money."

~ George W. Bush
More Than an Oocher

— Boston, Oct. 4, 2002

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"I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will."

~ George W. Bush
the Disarming President
— Speaking about Saddam Hussein, Manchester, N.H., Oct. 5, 2002

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"People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."

~ George W. Bush
Unusual Strategist

— Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

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"There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons."

~ George W. Bush
Undoubtedly

— South Bend, Ind., Sept. 5, 2002

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"See, we love—we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love."

~ George W. Bush
Lover
— Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002

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"There's no cave deep enough for America, or dark enough to hide."

~ George W. Bush
Hiding in plain site in the White House
— Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002

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"Reading is the basics for all learning."

~ George W. Bush
The guy who was reading to elementary students as the terrorists flew jets into the World Trade Center.
—Announcing his "Reading First" initiative in Reston, Va., March 28, 2000.

© 2009 Butch Maxwell

Last updated January 20, 2009 - the day he left office!