Another moment of sociopathic honesty

[lapsedmodernist]

My favorite moment of the press conference:

Governor George "Begging the Question" Bush: It's in our country's interests to find those who would do harm to us and GET THEM OUT OF HARM'S WAY.

My second favorite moment:

QUESTION: Mr. President, you've made No Child Left Behind a big part of your education agenda. The nation's largest teachers union has filed suit against it, saying it's woefully inadequately funded. What's your response to that? And do you think that No Child Left Behind is working?

BUSH: Yes, I think it's working. And the reason why I think it's working is because we're measuring. And the measurement is showing progress toward teaching people how to read and write and add and subtract. Listen, the whole theory behind No Child Left Behind is this: If we're going to spend federal money, we expect the states to show us whether or not we're achieving, you know, simply objectives, like literacy, literacy in math, the ability to read and write. And some people don't like to measure. But if you don't measure, how do you know whether or not you've got a problem in a classroom? I believe it's best to measure early and correct problems early before it's too late. That's why, as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act, we had money available for remedial education. In other words, we said, we're going to measure. And when we detect someone who needs extra help, that person will get extra help. And, yes, we're making progress. And I can say that with certainty, because we're measuring.

QUESTION: What about the lawsuit? What's your response to...

BUSH: I don't know about the lawsuit. I'm not a lawyer.

Also: what did that guy mutter after Bush said he would wrap up in order to not cut into TV programs, for the economy's sake, right before the question on Social Security solvency? Did he mutter "oh really?"

Comments

[nearly-there.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the measurement thing was lovely. Never mind that anyone sensible who works in education will tell you that what you're really measuring is the number of standardized tests kids have taken before.

I [sarcasm]loved[/sarcasm] the "who says the ownership society should only be for rich people?" (or whatever the exact wording was.) And that crazymanic smirk. The smirk gives it all away, and someday someone will actually start paying attention and realize that.

[vulgarlad.livejournal.com]

"measure" was definitely the word-of-the-day on the calendar sitting on his desk.

~the lad

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

did you happen to catch whatever that sotto voice bit was from the reported sitting next to Hutch? I thought if anyone would, you might.

[nearly-there.livejournal.com]

someday someone will actually start paying attention and realize that.

And because it wasn't at all clear from the comment: I meant someone like a major non-"liberally biased" news source, or a moderate senate republican, or... you know. Someone who the deeply misguided people who vote for him might actually listen to.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

The smirk gives it all away, and someday someone will actually start paying attention and realize that.

I dunno, when I watch him I feel like we need an electoral college comprised of those Oliver Sacks aphasiac patients whom he observed watching Reagan's speech:

"Thus the feeling I sometimes have - which all of us who work closely with aphasiacs have - that one cannot lie to an aphasiac. He cannot grasp your words, and so cannot be deceived by them; but what he grasps he grasps with infallible precision, namely the expression that goes with the words, that total, spontaneous, involuntary expressiveness which can never be simulated or faked, as words alone can, all too easily..."

"...it was the grimaces, the histrionisms, the false gestures and, above all, the false tones and cadences of the voice, which rang false for these wordless but immensely sensitive patients...This is why they laughed at the President's speech..."

On a separate note, since tomorrow is Friday, does this mean Jon Stewart isn't going to rip into this on The Daily Show?

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Haha. Are you familiar with the ouvre of "Vovochka" anekdoti?

[vulgarlad.livejournal.com]

no. sorry. i missed it.

~the lad

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

well, actually...

(I assume you read Russian)
(and in all of these Vovochka is, like, in third grade)

Вовочка:
- Марь-ивановна, вот я вырасту, стану большим и важным человеком, вам будет стыдно за то, что вы мне двойки ставили!
- Путин, не поясничай!

[fengi.livejournal.com]

Alas I missed this. Well not "alas" exactly as this would imply regret. I wonder if transcripts record his gaffes verbatim or clean up the language.

I noticed the grinning thing getting out of control the first time Bush addressed Congress after 9-11. I watched this with an equally acerbic friend and the first thing we both said was "why the hell is he grinning?" He tried to supress it, but you could tell he was so pleased to have everyone taking him seriously for once. As I think I've related before, we theorized about what he was thinking, "Look at me, I'm presidenting! I'm presidenting up a storm. Oh yeah, look serious now." Many of the shots framed him against a row of generals in full dress and robed judges (I'm pretty sure it was the supreme court justices who voted for him). If you look at that speech now, you realize the fucker is positively gleeful. Even then he knows 9-11 is a free ride. More disturbing, during one of the several waves of applause, he winked. The station I was watching cut away to his wife (as if this made it okay) but I think it was more a wink to Republicans in general, meaning "we can do whatever we want now."

[mashuta.livejournal.com]

it's sort of like "stop clowning around". it's a rare one - i had to rack my brains for a sec before it came to me. i think the word is derived from one meaning "clown" or "puppet" - a la punch and judy... or i could just be pulling this out of my arse.


speaking of brain, bush makes me want to stab mine. repeatedly. he *seriously* makes me want to hurt myself, i just cant take this reality. somebody, stop the universe, i want to get off!!!!!$!@#!@ i am sure it's not me, but i just cant.make.sense.of.anything.he.says. like, he will be speaking, and i know and understand almost every word he says (and i can take a good guess at the made-up ones).. but put them together, and what have you got? scrambled nonsense. i cant even make fun of him because i just.dont.get.it.

is there a net video of this press conference somewhere that y'all can point me to? i gots no teevee at home.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

no, they clean it up.

At the end of the conference he said to the journalists:

"Thank you for your answers"
and they changed it to:
"Thank you for your interest"

They kept the "harm's way" one, though!

[orpheusinhades.livejournal.com]

I totally agree - he cracks himself up whenever he's lying. He's like "haha, did you believe that? haha, you guys are such suckers."

[bing-crosby.livejournal.com]

is that "I'm not a lawyer" thing like his whole "oh, ha, yeah, I own a lumber company? want some wood?" like he thinks it's a joke? I don't know about a lawsuit against my administration. Stop, you're killing me.

[nearly-there.livejournal.com]

YES. Best idea I've heard in a long time with regard to politics.

("The president's speech" is such an amazing essay. I am in love with Oliver Sacks, have been ever since I read "The man who mistook his wife for a hat" for a cognitive science class.)

[klingrap.livejournal.com]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why do you all have pictures of Bushon your icons so I have to look at him more than I already do, which invariably raises my blood pressure? I'm going to have a massive coronary just from having to look at the guy's face.

AND WHY THE FUCK DO THEY HAVE TO DRILL IN THE ARCTIC REFUGE? WHY??????

Coronary. Coming any day now.

[cataptromancer.livejournal.com]

It's because measure subliminally suggests "assure"

[watchamacallit.livejournal.com]

i flipped back and forth through that press conference and happened to see the most hysterical moments.

not only did he claim not to be a laywer, but also not an economist. no shit Bushie!

[mjmj.livejournal.com]

also, north korea, like liberia, which begged the u.s. to send troops, has no oil.

[mjmj.livejournal.com]

i don't have a lot of first-hand knowledge about shrub-speak because i've never heard more than about thirty seconds of it at one time since 2000, but the 'doonesbury' of a few sundays ago was a pretty good illustration of his incoherence. except for the first and last frames, it was unedited text of a shrub speech in which he attempts to make a case for his -- what, plan? -- for changing social security. not one sentence was completed. it reminded me of the observation an SNL comic made about shrub, that he doesn't really care about what he's saying and gets bored/annoyed/whatever with it about half way through, and just starts on something else.

but it is interesting that there are no verbatim transcripts of his press conference. part of the "keep the people in the dark about what a incompetent klutz this guy is" campaign, not too mention the historical record. the wash. post, among other "papers of record", has its summary and analysis, but no printed transcript. the nytimes has a transcript, but they don't want to put their name on it: "as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions, Inc."