# The commercial for "Thank You For Smoking"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-commercial-for-thank-you-for-smoking/350504>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 30, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-commercial-for-thank-you-for-smoking/350504 "2006-03-30T04:21:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-commercial-for-thank-you-for-smoking/350504/1 "2006-03-30T04:21:49Z")

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The commercial for this movie shows clips of GW and Bill Clinton uttering some of their more infamous spinny sounding soundbites. (“When we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace,” and “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”

I thought these were impersonators, but having watched the commercial again, I guess it looks like its really them.

But, the delivery of the lines in question looks so… _smarmy_. The delivery really looks more like what you would expect from an actor intending to lampoon the line as he says it, rather than what you would expect from a president trying to deliver the line with utter sincerity.

Have I been fooled? Are these just really good impersonations?

Or is that really how these lines were actually delivered by the presidents originally?

-Kris

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**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-commercial-for-thank-you-for-smoking/350504/2 "2006-03-30T05:11:09Z")

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They sound genuine to me. I would not have suspected them of being impersonations.

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-commercial-for-thank-you-for-smoking/350504/3 "2006-03-30T06:16:49Z")

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The clips might be edited a little, but it’s got to be them.

I hope this doesn’t wander out of Cafe Society territory, but Bush can be smarmy like that. He just gets that look and tone sometimes. And believe it or not, Clinton may have felt pretty smug at the time he delivered that line. If I can make up a verb, he was doing some stellar lawyering.

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**Author:** ![Daylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@Daylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylon)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-commercial-for-thank-you-for-smoking/350504/4 "2006-03-30T10:42:45Z")

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> [@Frylock](#):
>
> The commercial for this movie shows clips of GW and Bill Clinton uttering some of their more infamous spinny sounding soundbites. (“When we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace,” and “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
> 
> I thought these were impersonators, but having watched the commercial again, I guess it looks like its really them.
> 
> But, the delivery of the lines in question looks so… _smarmy_. The delivery really looks more like what you would expect from an actor intending to lampoon the line as he says it, rather than what you would expect from a president trying to deliver the line with utter sincerity.
> 
> Have I been fooled? Are these just really good impersonations?
> 
> Or is that really how these lines were actually delivered by the presidents originally?
> 
> -Kris

I’ve heard both those quotes outside of the movie - I’m sure they’re real.

Reminds me of Frank Caliendo (comedian) doing Clinton.

“Clinton’s so good, he could stand here and say, 'I. Am not here.” and we’d believe him…"

D.