Bushisms - George 'Dubya' Bush

"If affirmative action means what I just described, what I'm for, then I'm for it." —St. Louis, Mo., October 18, 2000

"I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can't answer your question." - In response to a question about whether he wished he could take back any of his answers in the first debate. Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Oct. 4, 2000 (Thanks to Peter Feld.)

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

"...more and more of our imports are coming from overseas." -- On NPR's Morning Edition (9/26) - (Thanks Paul ...)

"The best way to relieve families from time is to let them keep some of their own money." —Westminster, Calif., Sept.13, 2000

"They have miscalculated me as a leader." —Ibid.

"We don't believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans." —Scranton, Pa., Sept. 6, 2000

"As governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards." --CNN online chat, Aug.30, 2000 (what are ya' laughin at?)

On His Tax Break Plan Bush said "if most of the breaks go to wealthy people it's because 'most of the people who pay taxes are wealthy'." Extracted from the Internet - shocked? me too but not surprised

George W. Bush's new Web site, www.georgewbush.com, states that the No. 3 priority of the campaign is "Putting Education First." -- 7/19... Al Kamen, Washington Post

How Dumb is Too Dumb? As Governor of Texas and mass executioner George W. Bush makes his bid for the White House -- "I'm running for President because I'm running for President"

"The only things that I can tell you is that every case I have reviewed I have been comfortable with the innocence or guilt of the person that I've looked at. I do not believe we've put a guilty ... I mean innocent person to death in the state of Texas." — All Things Considered, NPR, June 16, 2000 (Thanks to Andy Nouraee.)

"At one of these governors' conferences, George [W. Bush] turns to me and says: 'What are they talking about?'

I said: 'I don't know.'

He said: 'You don't know anything, do you?'

And I said: 'Not one thing.'

Bush said: 'Neither do I.'

And we kind of high-fived."

--Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico shares a verbal exchange that took place between him and George W. Bush. (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times, 5/31/00)

"I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is underestimating." — U.S. News & World Report, April 3, 2000 (Thanks to Alfred Stanley, Austin, Texas.)

"I think we agree, the past is over." — On his meeting with John McCain, Dallas Morning News, May 10, 2000

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it." — Reuters, May 5, 2000 (Thanks to Allison Fansler.)

GOV. BUSH: Because the picture on the newspaper. It just seems so un-American to me, the picture of the guy storming the house with a scared little boy there. I talked to my little brother, Jeb — I haven't told this to many people. But he's the governor of — I shouldn't call him my little brother — my brother, Jeb, the great governor of Texas.

JIM LEHRER: Florida.

GOV. BUSH: Florida. The state of the Florida. —The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer, April 27, 2000

"I was raised in the West. The west of Texas. It's pretty close to California. In more ways than Washington, D.C.,is close to California." — In Los Angeles as quoted by the Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2000

"Reading is the basics for all learning." — Announcing his "Reading First" initiative in Reston, Va., March 28, 2000