# Debate #2 on Friday. Bushisms. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343 "2004-10-09T06:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/1 "2004-10-09T06:53:03Z")
While the quotes may not be exact, the Bushisms in question, are: Advice from the **intelligence… group.** There’s rumors going around on the **internets** about this. Ladies and gentlemen, the leader of the free world. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/2 "2004-10-09T08:01:18Z")
The free world might have something to say about that… ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/3 "2004-10-09T12:29:19Z")
I thought I was hallucinating when I heard " … Saddam would still be in power and the world would be a better place …" ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/4 "2004-10-09T12:37:23Z")
According to the CNN transcript, those were words Bush was trying to say Kerry was really saying. > [@](#): > > **BUSH:** He complains about the fact our troops don’t have adequate equipment, yet he voted against the $87 billion supplemental I sent to the Congress and then issued one of the most amazing quotes in political history: “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” > > Saddam Hussein was a risk to our country, ma’am. And he was a risk that – and this is where we just have a difference of opinion. > > The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he were the president of the United States, “And the world would be a lot better off.” Pretty generous of the transcriber, because I have trouble seeing it. But that is probably where Bush’s brain was headed, even if his mouth never got him there. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/5 "2004-10-09T12:50:38Z")
Has anybody thought of something to explain the “battling green eyeshades” remark? Maybe the Pres has taken to selling Mary Kay. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/6 "2004-10-09T12:52:43Z")
Sometimes I miss The Great Communicator. Maybe Reagan wasn’t the saint he is being portrayed as and “all that”, but at least he could finish a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/7 "2004-10-09T14:43:11Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Has anybody thought of something to explain the “battling green eyeshades” remark? Green eyeshades (not makeup, but a little half-visor on one’s head) were worn by accountants back in the day of paper ledgers. Bush was basically saying there is a factual dispute as to what the actual numbers were. Replace Bush’s phrase with “battling accountants” if it helps you to get the point. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/8 "2004-10-09T15:46:40Z")
I thought the “battling green eyeshades” line was his high point of the evening. If you’d told me beforehand that Bush was going to utilize metaphor and synecdoche during the St. Louis debate, I wouldna believed you. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/9 "2004-10-09T15:53:17Z")
From the [transcript](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/08/debate.transcript/index.html): > [@George Bush](#): > > It also means that we can target things easier and move more quickly, which means we need to be lighter and quicker and **more facile** and highly trained. Not sure that’s possible, in Bush’s case. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/10 "2004-10-09T16:03:23Z")
Heh. I figured out what Bush meant with the “green eyeshades” bit, but it literally took me three of four seconds to parse out his meaning. And in the meantime, I had this odd vision of Bush and Kerry in drag, each wearing lime-green mascara, smacking each other around with purses. Personally, I thought the best Bushism was when he called Al Queda “haters.” That totally cracked me up. “Yo yo yo! Big Dog Gee-DUB here. You best stop all that hatin’, or else I’m gonna get all Presidential on yo’ ass.” Transcript, for those interested: [Part I](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/08/debate.transcript/) and [Part II](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/08/debate.transcript2/index.html) and [Part III](http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/08/debate.transcript3/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/11 "2004-10-09T16:13:13Z")
The mister and I cracked up when we heard ‘internets’. And I swear I saw him wink at someone - I brushed it off to a facial tic, but my husband said he read in the newspaper that he _was_ winking at someone. I’m still curious about the validity. Anyone else got a cite for that? Last night’s debate was interesting. I’m looking forward to the last one. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/12 "2004-10-09T16:21:20Z")
I saw the wink. I assumed it was aimed at the little blonde in the front row. “Meet me after this is over and I’ll make ya bark like the Presidential Seal…” ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/13 "2004-10-09T16:30:52Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I thought I was hallucinating when I heard " … Saddam would still be in power and the world would be a better place …" Did that line really throw you off? I thought it was very clear what he meant by it. Let me guess, you think that Bush is an illiterate and incompetent bastard because of that statement, don’t you? This kind of shit goes on all the time, Bush spews a couple of statements, then folks like you go in for the kill trying to snipe phrases and rearrange quotes to make him look stupid. Granted, the man isn’t the best talker, but you’re really not the best listener either. Of course Kerry is a smooth talker, he’s a god damn lawyer for crying out loud. IMO, a lot of the best talkers are the biggest bullshitters. I feel that President Clinton demonstrated that very well. I don’t really agree with Bushs policies and beliefs, but attacking his grammar and vocabulary is just so, so low. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/14 "2004-10-09T16:34:52Z")
> [@avabeth](#): > > The mister and I cracked up when we heard ‘internets’. I’m sorry, I must’ve been absent that day, is there only one internet in the world? ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/15 "2004-10-09T16:51:38Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > I’m sorry, I must’ve been absent that day, is there only one internet in the world? It’s generally accepted that there is only one - I know I only surf on one very large web. Apparently, the American Heritage Dictionary agrees with me. Ava ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/16 "2004-10-09T16:57:35Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > I saw the wink. I assumed it was aimed at the little blonde in the front row. Or maybe it was aimed at his wife… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/17 "2004-10-09T16:59:56Z")
> [@](#): > > …Let me guess, you think that Bush is an illiterate and incompetent bastard because of that statement, don’t you?.. Heavens, no! GeeDubya is not by any means “illiterate”, merely very selective as regards reading. I have no doubt he is perfectly capable of reading as much as I, if his lips didn’t get so tired. As to “bastard”, an accident of birth, and wholly forgiveable. “Incompetent”? Ah, well now… ---
**Author:** ![caphis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@caphis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caphis)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/18 "2004-10-09T17:04:41Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > I’m sorry, I must’ve been absent that day, is there only one internet in the world? Yes. Cite 1: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet) Cite 2: [What is the Internet? | Webopedia](http://webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html) Cite 3: The widespread public acceptance that there is only one. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/19 "2004-10-09T17:22:35Z")
You just had to go there didn’t you? 🙂 > [@caphis](#): > > Cite 1: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet) > > Taken from your example: > > > [@](#): > > > > Because it is the **largest, most extensive internet** (with a small i) in the world, it is simply called the Internet (with a capital I). I take this to mean that there are many that create one, yes? You cannot have the largest, most extensive hammer if there is only one (meaning, that it cannot be the largest if there is nothing to compare it to). > [@caphis](#): > > Cite 2: [What is the Internet? | Webopedia](http://webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html) Ok, good definition there, it kinda backs up your Cite 3 reasoning… > [@caphis](#): > > Cite 3: The widespread public acceptance that there is only one. The widespread public acceptance of Christianity also says that there is one. :dubious: Ok, so I’ve bullshitted a bit, but to say that there are not many internets? It sounds funny, but it is not false. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343/20 "2004-10-09T17:41:13Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > You just had to go there didn’t you? 🙂 > > I take this to mean that there are many that create one, yes? You cannot have the largest, most extensive hammer if there is only one (meaning, that it cannot be the largest if there is nothing to compare it to). > > Ok, good definition there, it kinda backs up your Cite 3 reasoning… > > The widespread public acceptance of Christianity also says that there is one. :dubious: > Ok, so I’ve bullshitted a bit, but to say that there are not many internets? It sounds funny, but it is not false. Wow. A Republican who is going off on a semantic tangent to derail a debate. That _never_ happens. :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-2-on-friday-bushisms/268343.md?page=2)