Whether we think that George W. Bush is a good President or not I think something that most people - Republican or Democrat, American or British, politically motivated or not - can agree upon is that he's a pretty poor public speaker.

This poem, composed by a Washington Post writer - from George W. quotes - has been thoroughly investigated by snopes* and it seems that most of the quotes are indeed genuine Bushisms.

As snopes doesn't allow direct page referencing use the "what's new" function from the front page, if you want the full analysis of the poem's content.

MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
by George W. Bush

I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
and potential mental losses.

Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?

They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope, where our wings take dream.

Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher!


It's good to know that the language is in such capable hands. I think I may put a sign up above my desk saying "I know that the human being and the fish can co-exist."

Vescere bracis meis.

Read all about my travels around the world here.

[This message was edited by BobHale on Sat Mar 1st, 2003 at 9:20.]

There was an interesting article in today's Chicago Tribune by Robert Worcester (hmmm, I wonder how he pronounces it...), an American who is a visiting professor of government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His group recently carried out a survey about what Europeans really think about America, and the answers are interesting. While the British response to "I like Americans as peoples" has actually risen since Margaret Thatcher's time, the reservations stem from their concern with the "current (and past) American president's capacity for world leadership." In fact their study showed that the majority of Europeans (French excepted) would like the U.S. to exert strong world leadership. As you can see from this survey, the percents considering this desirable are:
Dutch - 74%
British - 68%
Poles - 65%
Germans - 61%
Italians - 57%
French - 39%

So, it seems that the American people are not the problem, but it is (and has been) the American government. I guess that's a bit heartening.