Some Quotes from President Bush

I mentioned the Bushisms earlier (twice, if memory serves), but this isn't that. These are other quotes that I think are worth considering in light of what we've discussed today. I'm not going to provide my own commentary, as I think you can draw your own conclusions.

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it." Quoted by Richard S Dunham, Washington Watch, "A Gentleman's 'C' for W," Business Week Online, 7-30-01

"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." - Quoted by Bob Woodward.

Q. In the last campaign, you were asked a question about the biggest mistake you'd made in your life, and you used to like to joke that it was trading Sammy Sosa. You've looked back before 9/11 for what mistakes might have been made. After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?

THE PRESIDENT: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.

. . . I hope I -- I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.

President Addresses the Nation in Prime Time Press Conference

I appreciate the chance to -- I deal with my press corps on a regular basis. It's a beneficial -- it's a mutual beneficial society. See, I need them to get the message out, and they need me to be a messenger. And we're working hard to make sure that our relationship is cordial and professional." President Bush, President's Remarks to the Unity Journalists of Color Convention

George W. Bush: There's Adam Clymer, major-league asshole from the New York Times.
Dick Cheney: Oh, yeah, he is, big-time.
Exchange overheard during a Labor Day campaign rally at a high school in Naperville, Il.

"I regret that it [the comment noted directly above] made it to the public airwaves. I was making a comment to Vice President Cheney, I didn't obviously realize the mikes were gonna pick it up. I regret that everybody heard what I said." - President George W. Bush

Enjoy! Check back in tomorrow when we will run through President Bush's economic plans.