Bushspeak Update, First Half of 2007

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Our collection of excruciating examples of President George W. Bush's disastrous encounters with the English language continues to grow. The number is now so large it is no longer convenient to publish them by updating the original collection. Here are some gems of unintentional humor we have accumulated during the first half of 2007:

ALBERTO GONZALES
"This process has been drug out a long time, which says to me it's political." Describing the controversy surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Sofia, Bulgaria, June 11, 2007.

BULGARIA
"These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved." Sofia, Bulgaria, June 11, 2007.

HEALTH CARE
"What I'm telling you is there's too many junk lawsuits suing too many doctors." Washington, D.C., May 10, 2007.

"One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be."About benefits provided to military personnel, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007.

GAZA STRIP
"We understand the fright that can come when you're worried about a rocket landing on top of your home." About the outbreak of violence in the Gaza Strip, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007.

POLITICS
"There's a lot of blowhards in the political process, you know, a lot of hot-air artists, people who have got something fancy to say. "Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007.

"And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it." Said on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007.

TONY BLAIR
"My relationship with this good man is where I've been focused, and that's where my concentration is. And I don't regret any other aspect of it. And so I—we filled a lot of space together." Said about British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007.

GOVERNMENT
"Forms of government matter, in my opinion. It matters how—the nature of the government in which people live." Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007.

"And everybody wants to be loved—not everybody, but—you run for office, I guess you do. You never heard anybody say, 'I want to be despised, I'm running for office.' " Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007.

ALL ABOUT ME
"Wisdom and strength, and my family, is what I'd like for you to pray for." Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007.

"The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear—I'm a commander guy." Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007.

"I said to her, make sure the rug says 'optimistic person comes to work.'" Recalling his instructions to first lady Laura Bush in choosing a rug for the Oval Office, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007.

IRAQ AND THE WAR ON TERROR
"And so, what General Petraeus is saying, some early signs, still dangerous, but give me—give my chance a plan to work." Said during an interview with Charlie Rose, April 24, 2007.

"There are some similarities, of course—death is terrible." Comparing the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007.

"Suiciders are willing to kill innocent life in order to send the projection that this is an impossible mission." Washington, D.C., April 3, 2007.

"Some call this civil war; others call it emergency—I call it pure evil." Washington, D.C., March 28, 2007.

"And one thing we want during this war on terror is for people to feel like their life's moving on, that they're able to make a living and send their kids to college and put more money on the table." Said on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Jan. 16, 2007.

"I think that the vice president is a person reflecting a half-glass-full mentality."On National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007.

"The best way to defeat the totalitarian of hate is with an ideology of hope—an ideology of hate—excuse me—with an ideology of hope." At Fort Benning, Ga., Jan. 11, 2007.

INFORMATION
"Information is moving—you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets." Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
"If you've got a chicken factory, a chicken-plucking factory, or whatever you call them, you know what I'm talking about." Describing the sorts of jobs illegal immigrant workers perform, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007.

HIS WORLD VIEW
"My attitude about the world changed, and I know the attitude about the world from a lot of folks here in America's attitude changed." Discussing the Sept. 11 attacks, Fairfax, Va., April 10, 2007.

HOMELAND SECURITY
"That's why we are inconveniencing air traffickers, to make sure nobody is carrying weapons on airplanes."Describing the continuing need for heightened airline security, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2007.

BUSH'S NEW RULES OF GRAMMAR
"And my concern, David, is several." Said to David Gregory, Press Conference, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2007.

IRAN
"They're innocent, they were doing nothing, and they were summarily plucked out of water." Said about British sailors detained by Iran while their warship was on patrol in the Persian Gulf, Camp David, March 31, 2007.

WETLAND RESTORATION
"I'm a strong proponent of the restoration of the wetlands, for a lot of reasons. There's a practical reason, though, when it comes to hurricanes: The stronger the wetlands, the more likely the damage of the hurricane." Said about post-Katrina wetland improvements, New Orleans, March 1, 2007.

WORLD TRADE
"Trade is an important subject here at Caterpillar, and the reason why is because a lot of the product you make here, you sell to somebody else, sell overseas to another country. That's trade. And yet it's—it's a topic of hot debate." Said to workers at Caterpillar Inc., manufacturers of earth-moving equipment, East Peoria, Ill., Jan. 30, 2007.

Editor's Note: For earlier versions of the Bushspeak collection, see the following:

* "The Weird World of Bushspeak, Updated Again"
* "The Prequel: Early Examples of Weird Bushspeak"