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October 05, 2005
Bush Learns New Word, Forgets Old Ones
In yesterday's address in th Rose Garden, President Bush demonstrated he's been following the advice of his SAT tutor by making an effort to work new vocabulary words into everyday conversation:
BUSH: She is plenty bright. As I mentioned earlier, she was a pioneer in Texas. She just didn't kind of opine about things; she actually led.. . .I know people are jumping to all kinds of conclusions. And that's fine. That's part of our process, you know. People are quick to opine.
The thing I appreciate is that she's gotten a good reception on the United States Senate. People can opine all they want, but the final opinion is at the floor of the United States Senate. That's where it's going to be decided whether or not she is a Supreme Court judge.
In directing his efforts towards utilizing the new word, however, Mr. Bush seems to have let the meanings of some familiar words slip his mind:
QUESTION: Mr. President...BUSH: Yes?
QUESTION: ... in our latest poll...
BUSH: The what?
QUESTION: In our latest poll...
BUSH: Latest poll?
QUESTION: Yes. Our latest poll.
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: Gosh. OK.
QUESTION: I know you don't pay attention to polls. But anyway, in our latest poll...
BUSH: You run one every other day.
QUESTION: I know.
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: You mean yesterday's poll, as opposed to tomorrow's poll?
Bush, it seems, has not only forgotten the definition of "poll" but also of "latest," "yesterday," and "tomorrow."
Even forgot what "conservative" means:
QUESTION: Are you still a conservative?BUSH: Am I a what?
QUESTION: Still a conservative?
BUSH: I'm still a conservative, proudly so, proudly so.
Posted by hissycat at October 5, 2005 11:53 AM
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Comments
As President, he gets to decide what "conservative" means, and if anyone notices that it means something different today than when he ran in 2000, it doesn't mean that he was ever wrong about the meaning, only that he changed his mind.
(I'd like to say also that the horrible run-on I just wrote is some kind of subtle joke, a dig at the President's poor use of language, but the truth is, I sometimes think in run-on sentences, and this is just another unintended example. Your understanding in this matter is appreciated.)
Posted by: Kyle Hasselbacher at October 5, 2005 07:34 PM
Brevity is the soul of wit... Jerome
Posted by: Jerome at November 30, 2006 12:56 AM