# Ladies & Gentlemen: Our Articulate President **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 9, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982 "2004-08-09T04:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/1 "2004-08-09T04:02:54Z")
[This is just sad](http://www.majorityreportradio.com/weblog/archives/Bush%20-%20Tribal%20Sovereignty.mp3). He fucks up the answer so bad that the audience laughs at him. Also, the [War on Terror has been renamed](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040806-1.html): > [@](#): > > We actually misnamed the war on terror, it ought to be the struggle against ideological extremists who do not believe in free societies who happen to use terror as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of the free world. (Laughter.) Kind of lengthy, no? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/2 "2004-08-09T04:38:45Z")
Actually he clearly said “conscious” instead of “conscience”. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/3 "2004-08-09T04:59:18Z")
What’s wrong with the second bit? It’s a reasonable joke, even if he did screw up the pronunciation… ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/4 "2004-08-09T05:08:40Z")
> [@cmason32](#): > > [This is just sad](http://www.majorityreportradio.com/weblog/archives/Bush%20-%20Tribal%20Sovereignty.mp3). He fucks up the answer so bad that the audience laughs at him. > > Also, the [War on Terror has been renamed](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040806-1.html): > > Quote: > > We actually misnamed the war on terror, it ought to be the struggle against ideological extremists who do not believe in free societies who happen to use terror as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of the free world. (Laughter.) > Kind of lengthy, no? Yes, the S.A.I.E.W.D.N.B.I.F.S.W.H.T.U.T.A.A.W.T.T.T.S.T.C.O.T.F.W. Catchy. I read that speech and couldn’t imagine what it was like to be in that audience of intelligent, articulate people, who use words for a living, and hear the rambling bullshit. He talks like a moron to them, as if they’re morons. Some of my favorites: > [@](#): > > First, we don’t need **intern camps**. I mean, forget it. (Applause.) Right after 9/11, I knew this was going to be an issue in our country, that there would be people that say, there goes a **Muslim-looking person** , therefore that person might be viewed as a terrorist. As opposed to a Hindu-looking person or a Jew-looking person or a Catholic-looking person? > [@](#): > > We cannot – again – it’s interesting, these recent threats, you know, they’re becoming more and more enriched, as you’re finding out. There was more than one thread line – threat line. People are now seeing there was other reasons why we took the action we took. When we find out intelligence that is real that threatens people, I believe we have an obligation, as government, to share that with people. And imagine what would happen if we didn’t share that information with the people in those buildings, and something were to happen; then what would you write, what would you say? First, if I could, I’d ask why you sent your wife and daughters into the fire zone. Second, I’d ask why someone in your administration outed a valuable al-Qaeda operative. My third question would get me hauled away in chains. If not, then to this next, I would say… > [@](#): > > This is a dangerous time. I wish it wasn’t this way. I wish I wasn’t the war President. Who in the heck wants to be a war President? I don’t. But this is what came our way. FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!! You lied and sent us to war for no good reason, and murdered over 920 American soldiers and countless thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens for no good reason. Back then you SAID you were a “war president” with a fucking smirk on your face. Now you say THIS?? Fuck you. May you rot in the depths of hell. And your little apologists too. > [@](#): > > Question…What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century, and how do we resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and the state governments? > > THE PRESIDENT: Tribal sovereignty means that, it’s sovereign. You’re a – you’ve been given sovereignty, and you’re viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities. What a dipshit. My favorite one was from the day before: > [@](#): > > Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we. Finally, a bit of truth. See, it’s not so hard George. There’s more, much more, but I’m going to go throw up and take a shower for having read what I did. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/5 "2004-08-09T05:31:54Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Yes, the S.A.I.E.W.D.N.B.I.F.S.W.H.T.U.T.A.A.W.T.T.T.S.T.C.O.T.F.W. > > Catchy. It is a joke, you moron. See the “(laughter)” in brackets? Same goes for you, **cmason** ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/6 "2004-08-09T05:38:50Z")
By the way, is “shake [the] conscience” a proper and/or common phrase? It doesn’t sound quite right to me. Anyway why shouldn’t we laugh AT someone for making a bad joke? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/7 "2004-08-09T06:08:25Z")
> [@lambchops](#): > > It is a joke, you moron. See the “(laughter)” in brackets? Same goes for you, **cmason** They were laughing AT him, not with him. ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/8 "2004-08-09T06:13:36Z")
> [@lambchops](#): > > It is a joke, you moron. See the “(laughter)” in brackets? Same goes for you, **cmason** They’re laughing at him, just as they are in the mp3 I linked. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/9 "2004-08-09T06:26:14Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > My favorite one was from the day before: > Quote: > Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we. The worst part is, I can actually see him saying that with his best stern, squinty look; believing he’s saying something stirring and inspiring. What a doofus. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/10 "2004-08-09T06:28:34Z")
I’ve never thought the man was articulate, but it is a little weird to hear people laughing at the President when he’s trying to be serious. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/11 "2004-08-09T06:32:51Z")
No way that’s not a scripted laugh line. “We actually misnamed the war on terror, it ought to be the struggle against ideological extremists who do not believe in free societies who happen to use terror as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of the free world.” There’s no way he came up with that on his own. The fact that he flubbed “conscience” into “conscious” means that it makes no sense - so he’s not coming up with the line off the top of his head, he’s slightly screwing up a pre-written line. It was written for him, which means it had to be an intentional joke. ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/12 "2004-08-09T06:40:35Z")
> [@lambchops](#): > > No way that’s not a scripted laugh line. “We actually misnamed the war on terror, it ought to be the struggle against ideological extremists who do not believe in free societies who happen to use terror as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of the free world.” > > There’s no way he came up with that on his own. The fact that he flubbed “conscience” into “conscious” means that it makes no sense - so he’s not coming up with the line off the top of his head, he’s slightly screwing up a pre-written line. It was written for him, which means it had to be an intentional joke. It was a response to a question from a reporter - it wasn’t scripted. Watch it at cspan, he struggles through the sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/13 "2004-08-09T06:46:43Z")
Can you give a rough idea of when it happened? I’ve got the video running now. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/14 "2004-08-09T07:01:53Z")
**Equipoise** , **cmason** , I think I may have been wrong. I’m still not sure, but I shouldn’t have been so hasty to insult you. I’m sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/15 "2004-08-09T07:10:37Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Can you give a rough idea of when it happened? I’ve got the video running now. I can’t get the link to work now. My recollection is that it is around the 29:00 minute mark. I could be way off, though. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/16 "2004-08-09T07:27:50Z")
Okay. If you watch the video on [C-SPAN](http://www.cspan.org): The “intern camps” bit starts at about 28:25. “Thread line/threat line” starts at 31:30. The “who the heck wants to be a war President” nonsense, which in my opinion is just insulting to everybody’s intelligence, is a minute later. Then comes the tribal sovereignty non-answer. The big question begins at about 47:20, and the big line is at about 48:30. The audience chuckles. It’s obviously unscripted and I think there’s no way he means it as a joke. He also says the mission is to achieve a democratic Iraq. Which is kinda interesting, I think. Lastly, I was amused when he said “He’s trying to get me to put a timetable out there. I’m not going to do it, see.” It made me think of his father. 😉 And Iyad Allawi is “a tough, strong guy who believes that Iraq can be free and democratic.” Okay. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/17 "2004-08-09T10:30:26Z")
> [@lambchops](#): > > **Equipoise** , **cmason** , I think I may have been wrong. I’m still not sure, but I shouldn’t have been so hasty to insult you. I’m sorry about that. No problem. It’s hard to believe that the leader of the free world (snort) is so amazingly dumb, so I don’t blame you. I haven’t watched the whole video, but Kieth Olbermann played that S.A.I.E.W.D.N.B.I.F.S… bit on his MSNBC show Countdown. Bush was dead serious. The audience was snickering, as was the sound man. Olbermann also played the “sovereign entities” bit, and the audience was just outright laughing at Bush. It was embarrassing and hilarious at the same time. Thanks for the timings Marley23. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/18 "2004-08-09T10:38:41Z")
> [@Lambchops](#): > > No way that’s not a scripted laugh line. “We actually misnamed the war on terror, it ought to be the struggle against ideological extremists who do not believe in free societies who happen to use terror as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of the free world.” Reminds me of some of our better chants, back in the day. _Down with the Amerikan imperialist capitalist fascist pigs, waging war against the innocent Vietnamese people!_ Took some doing to get a rhythm going, though. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/19 "2004-08-09T11:03:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > …It’s obviously unscripted and I think there’s no way he means it as a joke. For all the griping you folks do about the man, you’d think you would know him better. That was obviously one of his dead-pan ‘jokes’. Not in the Comedy Castle stand-up comic style, but humorous intent nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982/20 "2004-08-09T13:09:15Z")
> [@](#): > > That was obviously one of his dead-pan ‘jokes’. I’m not through my first cuppa joe yet, so my humour circuit is not functioning well yet. I don’t get it. What’s the joke? Is it “They don’t like ‘The War on Terror’, so I’ll make up something ridiculously long. Haha.”? If that’s it, then I guess you had to have been there, because I’m not getting the “joke”. 😕 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-gentlemen-our-articulate-president/258982.md?page=2)