US President George W. Bush may be passing out of the White House and into history, but he has bequeathed to the nation and the world volumes of unforgettable quotes.
Herewith are some of the more memorable "Bush-isms:"
JUST A TEXAS COWBOY
"They misunderestimated me,"
— Bentonville, Arkansas, November 6, 2000
"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on ... shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again,"
— Nashville, Tennessee, September 17, 2002
"I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today ... He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me,"
— Nashville, Tennessee, May 27, 2004
"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office,"
— to Israeli journalists in Washington in an interview published May 12, 2008.
ON WAR
"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace,"
— Washington, June 18, 2002
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we," — Washington, August 5, 2004
"You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one,"
— Des Moines, Iowa, October 26, 2006
FRIENDS AND FOES
"For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times,"
— Tokyo, February 18, 2002
"I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend,"
— on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, June 29, 2005
"Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech,"
— Washington April 16, 2008 to Pope Benedict XVI.
"I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office,"
— Washington, June 26, 2008
ECO-BUSH
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully,"
— Saginaw, Michigan, September 29, 2000
DOC BUSH
"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 the country,"
— Poplar Bluff, Missouri, September 6, 2004
"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber,"
— Washington, April 10, 2002
THE EDUCATOR
"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
— Florence, South Carolina, January 11, 2000
"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test,"
— Townsend, Tennessee, February 21, 2001
THE ENFORCER
"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law,"
— Tucson, Arizona, November 28, 2005
AND ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE
"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them,"
— Washington, September 11, 2001
"The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war,"
— Washington, September 12, 2001
"I can hear you. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,"
— New York, September 14, 2001
"I want justice. There's an old poster out west, as I recall, that said, "Wanted: Dead or Alive,"
— Washington, September 17, 2001
"Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,"
— Washington, September 20, 2001
"States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world,"
— Washington, January 29, 2002
"My fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended ... The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free,"
— USS Abraham Lincoln at sea off the coast of San Diego, California, May 1, 2003
"There are some who feel like — that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring them on,"
— Washington, July 2, 2003
"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,"
— Washington, April 18, 2006
