# All Bushes are clueless about the world! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 17, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676 "2003-02-17T18:25:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/1 "2003-02-17T18:25:08Z")
From this article: [Spanish eye Florida Business Boost](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/17/sprj.irq.jebbush.aznar/index.html) It turns out that Dubya is not the only member of the family who is clueless about the world: > [@](#): > > "But in a speech to Spanish business leaders, the governor blundered by calling Spain a republic when it is a constitutional monarchy with King Juan Carlos as the head of state. > > Speaking in Spanish, Bush said: "I want to thank the president of the Republic of Spain for his friendship with the United States. " I guess the Democratic People’s Republic of Florida’s trade with the Republic of Spain is growing lately! :rolleyes: It’s not as bad as some of his dear brother’s blunders, but I wonder why he felt the need to use the full (incorrect) name for a country, when he could just have said Spain instead. Note to Mods: I put this in MPSIMS, because it’s mainly pointless, but if it should go somewhere else, please feel free to move it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/2 "2003-02-17T19:26:18Z")
I’ll never forget when GHWB was running against Clinton, he was asked what a gallon of milk cost. He said $1. Former head of the CIA, Representative from Texas, and VPOTUS, has no idea what a gallon of milk costs us peons. That says it all, to me. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/3 "2003-02-17T19:28:39Z")
I think you expect too much from your foliage. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/4 "2003-02-17T20:21:35Z")
Eh, be fair. The article merely displays the quote in the OP. It looks like Jeb didn’t call Spain a republic, but merely said “president” instead of “prime minister”. Since he was speaking in Spanish, I’d say cut him some slack. It’s a blunder, but not a major one. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/5 "2003-02-17T20:25:51Z")
No kidding. Like there aren’t enough reasons to criticize either major Bush on the policy end of things? This is lame. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/6 "2003-02-17T20:44:40Z")
I’m amused by the logic that determines that all Bushes are clueless about the world based on A) foreknowledge of Bush the Younger and Jeb. Because that says _what_ about any of the others, again? ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/7 "2003-02-17T20:44:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rubystreak \* > \*\*I’ll never forget when GHWB was running against Clinton, he was asked what a gallon of milk cost. He said $1. Former head of the CIA, Representative from Texas, and VPOTUS, has no idea what a gallon of milk costs us peons. That says it all, to me. \*\* A lot was made of this and when Bush the Elder expressed amazement at a supermarket scanning machine. Think about it. When do you think was the last time this man did his own shopping? Probably buying macaroni back from his bachelor days. WL is right. There’s a lot bigger things to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/8 "2003-02-17T20:58:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Eh, be fair. The article merely displays the quote in the OP. It looks like Jeb didn’t call Spain a republic, but merely said “president” instead of “prime minister”. Since he was speaking in Spanish, I’d say cut him some slack. It’s a blunder, but not a major one. \*\* He was quoted as saying “Republica de España” in the Mexican papers. Plus I believe Aznar is the president, not prime minister. Also Mr. Mod, I started another thread with the same topic, feel free to delete at your leisure. [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=163755) My apologies to lothos. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/9 "2003-02-17T21:18:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Abe Babe \* > \*\*A lot was made of this and when Bush the Elder expressed amazement at a supermarket scanning machine. > > Think about it. When do you think was the last time this man did his own shopping? Probably buying macaroni back from his bachelor days.\*\* [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/history/american/bushscan.htm) strikes again. I thought we had gotten off this “Bush is dumb” thing looong ago. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/10 "2003-02-17T21:39:56Z")
What about Kate Bush? I wonder if she knows about Mexico’s government. ---
**Author:** ![rhinostylee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc79bd/32.png) [@rhinostylee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhinostylee)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/11 "2003-02-17T22:23:57Z")
Hey, that’s racist against Bushes! You can’t call someone a Bush unless you are one! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/12 "2003-02-17T22:35:21Z")
Yeah, the “Bush was amazed at the supermarket scanner” story will probably have as long a lifetime as the “Al Gore said he invented the Internet” story. But you’re right, **mike** , in the fight against ignorance, we shouldn’t be citing _any_ such fictitious stories here. And incorrectly referring to a constitutional monarchy as a republic is pretty small potatoes, IMHO. I’m hardly a Bush fan, but I think I’ll stick to substantive reasons for that, rather than rely on irrelevant trivia like this. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/13 "2003-02-17T23:12:17Z")
Yeah, let’s nitpick every little thing we can about the President and distract ourselves from legitimate gripes about his policies. It’s so much easier to just snag on every little thing that fits your preconceptions and shove people in categories than actually try to be non-partisan. Objectivity is overrated anyway. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/14 "2003-02-17T23:38:28Z")
Before I even opened this thread I thought… “Is that supposed to be here or in The Pit?” ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/15 "2003-02-18T00:48:02Z")
The fact that this non-event inspired two threads here on the SDMB boggles my mind. I’d have closed this one, though; at least the other was in the right forum and didn’t have _quite_ as blindingly ignorant of a thread title. ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/16 "2003-02-18T06:48:13Z")
I’m sorry if the thread title and the OP didn’t come out as humouros, which was the intent. I apologyse for making such a gross generalisation about the Bush family based only on the remarks of two of its members about foreing countries. The OP was meant as hyperbole and I apologyse for not making it absolutely clear that some members of the Bush family may not be ignorant about foreing countries. Thank you all for your input, I will take into account in future postings. I should also point out that it is not such a “non-event” as it might be perceived in the United States. Spain was at one time a Republic, when Franco was in power, and therefore the name Republic of Spain brings back memories of that time to the mind of many Spaniards.Pointing this out was not the intent of my OP, since I am not one of the people who took offense, although I do think it did show a certain degree of ignorance about the country about which he was speaking. The main point I was trying to make, which I thought I clearly stated in the OP but unfortunately did not come across properly because of the title, was that I found it strange that Jeb Bush took the trouble to mention the full name of the country (incorrectly), when saying “the President of Spain” would have been a) sufficient, b) correct and c) easier. Having said that, I would like to address two specific posts, > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Asylum \* > Yeah, let’s nitpick every little thing we can about the President and distract ourselves from legitimate gripes about his policies. It’s so much easier to just snag on every little thing that fits your preconceptions and shove people in categories than actually try to be non-partisan. Objectivity is overrated anyway._\* Just to clarify: I did not make any partisan statements and I was talking about an error made by Jeb Bush, not George W. Bush. Although I did mention prior similar blunders in which George W. Bush and made a gross generalization for which I have apologysed, I can’t find any relation between your statements and my OP. Objectivity is not overrated at all, you should consider that. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > \*\*The fact that this non-event inspired two threads here on the SDMB boggles my mind. I’d have closed this one, though; at least the other was in the right forum and didn’t have _quite_ as blindingly ignorant of a thread title. \*\* **White Lightning**. I don’t think there is any reason for you to be rude. I did state that if a mod considered this to be in the wrong forum, then it should be moved and I explained the reasons for placing it here. Your tone is not appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/17 "2003-02-18T06:56:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Legomancer \* > \*\*What about Kate Bush? I wonder if she knows about Mexico’s government. \*\* Do you mean the United Mexican States or the Republic of Mexico? Kate seems rather knowledgeable, so I guess she’s in the clear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/18 "2003-02-18T16:15:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lothos2002 \* > **Just to clarify: I did not make any partisan statements and I was talking about an error made by Jeb Bush, not George W. Bush. Although I did mention prior similar blunders in which George W. Bush and made a gross generalization for which I have apologysed, I can’t find any relation between your statements and my OP. Objectivity is not overrated at all, you should consider that.** You’re right. I meant to say “the President and his family”. I stand by the rest of my post. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/19 "2003-02-18T17:04:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*lothos2002 \*\*\* > **White Lightning**. I don’t think there is any reason for you to be rude. I did state that if a mod considered this to be in the wrong forum, then it should be moved and I explained the reasons for placing it here. Your tone is not appreciated. Enh. I was just saying that had I been the mod to close one of the two threads on this topic, I’d likely have closed this one just to save trouble. As far as my tone, you say ‘hyperbole’ I say ‘ignorant.’ Potato-potato. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Toaster52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/50afbb/32.png) [@Toaster52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toaster52)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676/20 "2003-02-18T17:42:04Z")
**lothos2002** , you said: humouros…should be humor_ous_ apologyse …apolog_ize_ foreing…forei_gn_ So I guess, by the standards you want to ascribe to our President, you also would fail… Ya know, with everything else that President Bush (and any President) has to worry about, knowing the EXACT history, in total, of EVERY country that EVER existed doesn’t seem to be a major consideration for me. If he had called Spain, say…Norway, then I would agree that would be of some concern. Let’s save our time and energy for something that matters, shall we? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-bushes-are-clueless-about-the-world/155676.md?page=2)