Still More George W. Bushisms: "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican"

by Jacob Weisberg (Editor)

"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."
With signature remarks like these, it's hardly surprising that George W. Bush's malapropisms have become renowned around the world. Editions of Bushisms have become bestsellers in Germany, France, and Italy, and they remain as popular in the United States as ever. Jacob Weisberg, faithful scribe, here presents the best of the latest
"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like."
"I'm the master of low expectations."
"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Politics

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2003

About the author

Jacob Weisberg (born 1964) is an American political journalist, who served as editor-in-chief of The Slate Group, a division of Graham Holdings Company. In September 2018, he left Slate to co-found Pushkin Industries, an audio content company, with Malcolm Gladwell. Weisberg was also a Newsweek columnist. He served as the editor of Slate magazine for six years before stepping down in June 2008. He is the son of Lois Weisberg, a Chicago social activist and municipal commissioner.

Reviews

[W]

"First let me make it very clear,poor people are not necessarily killers.Just because you happen to be not rich does not mean you're willing to kill."

George W.Bush

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So funny. Damn! I actually MISSED this guy during the Trump years, showing that no matter how bad we THINK things are (Bush years), they could always be worse (Trump years.) Recommended for a few laughs.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and frightening all at the same time.

[E. Merrill Brouder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was glad to see that this book was printed in the United States, because "more and more of our imports come from overseas."

[James Swenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third in a series. I suspect the first two were better: it's the nature of a series of collections of quotations.

Yes, George W. Bush was an inarticulate president, and that was sometimes funny. In hindsight, though, it seems irrelevant, considering the tremendous amount of damage he did to his country.

In a foreword, Al Franken put his finger on the problem:

Yes, these books are [internationally] popular.... And as an American, that worries me to some extent. It is one thing to have the rest of the world believe that our president cannot be trusted. It is quite another for them to think he is stupid.

Because he is not. It has taken me some time to come to this point of view. You see, facility with language is only one aspect of intelligence. Bush, as I have come to appreciate, is a shrewd, if dishonest, politician who surrounds himself with like-minded advisers.

"Compassionate Conservatism." "By far a vast majority of my tax cuts go to those at the bottom." "No Child Left Behind" -- the most ironically named piece of legislation since the 1942 "Japanese Family Leave Act." All these in their way are as funny as any of the malapropisms in this volume.

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fact that this is the 6th book in this series proves the massive amount of idiotic things that have came out of our former President's mouth. I don't think they were slips of the tounge, he really is that stupid. It would be funny if our country wasn't in the toilet right now.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

ouch. ow.

[Davin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stuff is funny. Our former president is a genius.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too small a book - there was just so immense amount of material to choose from to this book.

Some of my favorites in this one:

"I'm the master of low expectations."
"I think war is a dangerous place.
"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."
"We don't believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans."

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was entertaining, albeit short. it's incredible how often Bush put his foot in his mouth. A lot of the stuff was just simple slips of the tongue, so to speak, but some of the really revealed a lot of ignorance and it was genuinely funny.

[Judi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as funny as the first; like the author was fishing for anything he could find. Disappointing!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the 2003 Fireside paperback edition.

I never thought I'd look back on the Bush, Jr. Era with nostalgia. When Leonard Cohen famously predicted in his 1992 song, The Future, "I have seen the future, baby, and it is murder," he wasn't kidding.

I was born in America. I happened to be homeless in England during the 2000 elections. I found out later that I could have voted, but voting was not exactly a top priority for me when I was seriously worried about getting eaten by rats.

I was still in England when Gulf War II broke out. One of the local homeless came into the homeless camp we were staying at, yelling, "THOSE BLOODY AMERICANS!"

"Hey," growled my boyfriend, "my missus is American."

"No, she's not!"

I've rarely been more proud in my life. I didn't even try to hide my accent, yet had been accepted by this native English homeless guy.

In other countries, Americans are branded as being mindless followers of whatever President is in charge. If you're travelling and discover the current President is unpopular, just agree with whoever you're talking to, even if you voted for that President. It might just save you an ass-whipping.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, the book --

The introduction by Al Franken is one of the best things he ever wrote. It's spot on. He also mentions how popular the Bushisms series was abroad. Yes, he was a warmonger, but also his malapropisms were breathtaking. Franken also mentions that he did more writing with his introduction than Jacob Weisberg did.

There actually was a lot of work put into this little book. Not only are the quotes presented, but they are topped with incitful and often funny titles, then paired with great photos. When and where Bush spoke these magic words is also included. This should be of great help to any GWB biographer.

You do not need to read the previous Bushisms books in order to fully understand what's going on here.

[This is V! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny