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Bushism

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President George W. Bush

Bushism is a neologism used to describe a word, phrase, pronunciation, or other linguistic errors that have occurred in the public speaking of United States Presidents George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush and subsequently used in caricatures of them. The terms have crept into popular folklore and have formed the basis of websites and published books.


Background

While any public figure speaking in so many venues over time is prone to a few unflattering errors, George Bush's regular use of nonstandard grammatical constructions has some common characteristics that have given him a hallmark style:

  • Adding agentive endings to words not usually accustomed to such treatment, such as "suiciders"[1].
  • Constructing neologisms such as "tacular" [2][3][4] (a portmanteau of "tactical" and "nucular") and "misunderestimated" ("misunderstood" and "underestimated").[5]
  • Occasional use of spoonerisms such as "mexed missages" (mixed messages) and "terriers and bariffs" (barriers and tariffs).[6]
  • Use of words that sound similar to intended words but are wrong in the context (i.e., malapropism). "Nuclear power pants" instead of "nuclear power plants."[7]
  • Use of the common variant pronunciation of nuclear as nucular.
  • Redundant or odd sentence construction, such as "We had a chance to visit with Teresa Nelson who's a parent, and a mom or a dad."[8]
  • Nonsensical statements, such as, "I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport."[9]

Some columnists, including Molly Ivins (the co-author of a book of Bushisms) have suggested that Bush may have difficulty speaking "Washington English," that he may be trying to cover his accent and over-emphasizing his words. Some have theorized that Bush is not familiar with some of the words that he feels he must use to keep up with his political colleagues.[10]

Psychoanalyst Justin Frank suggests in his 2004 book, Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President, that based on "growing anecdotal evidence," President Bush may suffer from dyslexia or Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, observing:

Naturally, the occasional misstatement or discrepancy between word and deed may be dismissed in politics as usual. But when the most powerful man on the planet consistently exhibits an array of multiple, serious, and untreated symptoms — any one of which I've seen patients need years to work through — it's certainly cause for further investigation, if not for outright alarm. President Bush is not my patient, of course, but the discipline of applied psychoanalysis gives us a way to make as much sense of his psyche as he is likely ever to allow.[11]

However, Frank's book has been criticized as devoid of appropriate psychoanalytical content by reviewers and is contrary to the ethical standards of the American Psychiatric Association. [12]

The Decider

"The Decider" is a self description of President George W. Bush which he made on April 19, 2006.

Origins of the Remark

The comment was made amidst speculation that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would resign, as many generals had been calling for his resignation. During one of President Bush's press conferences, a reporter asked him to comment on the speculation. He responded:

I say I listen to all voices, but mine’s the final decision. And Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He’s not only transforming the military, he’s fighting a war on terror. He’s helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of Defense. [13]

Reactions

This particular comment was widely parodied. Several episodes of The Daily Show have featured a parody comic book by R. Sikoryak depicting the president as a caped super hero capable of making decisive decisions that always turn out to be wrong.

During a press conference after Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, Kobe Bryant was quoted as saying "He didn't like my toneage, if that's a word. He's the decider. Is that a word, decider?" [14], perhaps showing that "the decider" has moved beyond merely lampooning George W. Bush and into mainstream vocabulary.

Make the Pie Higher poem

A poem composed entirely of Bushisms titled "Make the Pie Higher" has become popular on the internet. Each line contains some sort of grammatical error, logical error, or unusual usage and is said to have been uttered by George W. Bush. Although its origin is uncertain, it has been attributed to Washington Post political cartoonist and satirist Richard Thompson. The poem has been criticized as apocryphal. However, the Urban Legends Reference Pages at Snopes.com have verified all but the line "I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity" as having been spoken by Bush at one point or another during his Presidency. [15]

Other famous Bushisms

  • The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.
  • If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.
  • One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.
  • I have made good judgments in the future.
  • The future will be better tomorrow.
  • We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.
  • I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.
  • We have a firm commitment to NATO; we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe; we are a part of Europe.
  • Public speaking is very easy.
  • A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.
  • We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.
  • For NASA, space is still a high priority.
  • Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.
  • It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.
  • It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.
  • Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?
  • It's hard to get enough money to put food on your family.
  • Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country.
  • Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.
  • [We live in] a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental loss.
  • ...rip down terriers and bariffs
  • When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world and you knew exactly who they were. It was us versus them and it was clear who them was. Today we are not so sure who the they are, but we know they're there.
  • When in Rome, do as the Romanians do.
  • I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is misunderestimating.

References

  1. ^ Office of the Press Secretary (May 23 2006). "President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel Participate in Joint Press Availability". The White House. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Dana Milbank (May 5 2000). "What's on W's Mind? Hard To Say". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Nancy Gibbs (Feb 14 2000). "McCain's Moment". Time. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Ben Fenton (Feb 4 2000). "Bush image damaged by his slips of the tongue". Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ G.W. Bush (November 6 2000). (Speech). Bentonville, Arkansas. {{cite speech}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ G.W. Bush (January 7 2001). (Speech). Rochester, New York. {{cite speech}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ G.W. Bush (September 30 2003). (Speech). Chicago, Illinois. {{cite speech}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Office of the Press Secretary (Sept 9 2003). "President Bush Discusses the "No Child Left Behind Act" in Florida". The White House. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Office of the Press Secretary (Oct 2 2001). "President Opens Reagan National Airport". The White House. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Adventures in George W. Bushspeak". Political Humor. Retrieved 2006-10-12.
  11. ^ Frank, Justin (2004). Bush on the Couch. New York, NY: Regan Books. ISBN 0060736704.
  12. ^ Irwin Savodnik, a psychiatrist who teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles, described Frank's book as a "psychoanalytic hatchet job" and said that "there is not an ounce of psychoanalytic material in the entire book." (See Shrinking the President: A mind is a dangerous thing to psychoanalyze. Although Frank had written for Salon.com prior to the publication of this book, the online magazine reviewed it unfavorably, arguing that it included "dubious theories" and that Frank had failed in his avowed intention to distinguish his partisan opinions from his psychoanalytic evaluation of Bush's character. (See The inner W). The code of the American Psychiatric Association, states that "it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement." (See The Principles of Medical Ethics.)
  13. ^ "I'm the Decider and I Decide What Is Best". Truthdig. Apr 19 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Bob Baum (May 3 2006). "Phoenix 114, LA Lakers 97". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Make the Pie Higher!". Snopes.com. 2002. Retrieved 2006-10-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

Further reading

  • Frank, Justin A., Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President (2004), ISBN 0-06-073670-4.
  • Miller, Mark Crispin. The Bush Dyslexicon (2001), ISBN 0-393-04183-2.
  • Thorne, Justin. The DubyaSpeak Compendium
  • George W. Bushisms: The Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Our 43rd President. Ed. Jacob Weisberg. ISBN 0-7407-4456-9.
  • Bushisms/President George Herbert Walker Bush in His Own Words New Republic. Workman Pub Co., May1992, ISBN 1563053187
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