They hide in caves. See, this is a different kind of war. And part of my responsibilities as your President is to remind people about the realities that we face in America. One of the realities is, is that these people hide in caves.
— Thanks for the education, Dubya. South Bend, Indiana, Sep. 5, 2002
“I need to be able to move the right people to the right place at the right time to protect you, and I’m not going to accept a lousy bill out of the United Nations Senate.” George W. Bush, South Bend, Ind., Oct. 31, 2002
“I think anybody who doesn’t think I’m smart enough to handle the job is underestimating.”
–U.S. News & World Report, April 3, 2000
“Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning”
–Florence, SC, Jan. 11, 2000
“It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.”
–Reuters, May 5, 2000
“I was raised in the West. The west of Texas. It’s pretty close to California. In more ways than Washington, D.C., is close to California.”
–Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2000
“Teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”
“There’s an old…saying in Tennessee…I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says Fool me once…(3 second pause)… Shame on…(4 second pause)…Shame on you….(6 second pause)…Fool me…Can’t get fooled again.” –George W. Bush to Nashville, Tennessee audience, Sept. 17, 2002, MSNBC-TV –Politex, Sept. 17, 2002, 10 PM
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world’s worst weapons.” –George W. Bush, South Bend, Indiana, Sept. 5, 2002.
Not only do I want you to remember September the 11th, but I want you to think about Indonesia, and the attack on our Marines in Kuwait, the attack on a French freighter. I mean, they’re out there. And the only way to deal with them — and by the way, I’ve come to the conclusion, and I hope you have, that therapy is not going to work.
— Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nov. 4, 2002
Well, I think that the free world is — must recognize that no one is safe, that if you embrace freedom you’re not safe from terrorism.
— I’m not following the logic here, Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2002
And we’re making progress. It’s hard to tell whether we’re making progress or not, but we are.
— Trenton, New Jersey, Sep. 23, 2002
I want to send the signal to our enemy that you have aroused a compassionate and decent and mighty nation, and we’re going to hunt you down.
— No, I didn’t make this one up. Louisville, Kentucky, Sep. 5, 2002
In the old days, you could count tanks and figure out how strong the enemy was. This is an enemy that hides in caves. They try to find the darkest cave, the deepest cave, and then they send youngsters to their suicidal deaths. It’s a different kind of hater than we’re used to.
— The old “haters” used tanks, I guess, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sep. 2, 2002
I’m sure your kids, they’re wondering, why would you hate America? We didn’t do anything to anybody. Well, they hate America because we love freedom.
— I have never heard a terrorist group claim to be against the love of freedom, and claiming the USA has never done anything to anybody is about as false as it gets, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sep. 2, 2002
Dubya at War
[ YEAR: 2002 | pre-2002 ]
Not only do I want you to remember September the 11th, but I want you to think about Indonesia, and the attack on our Marines in Kuwait, the attack on a French freighter. I mean, they’re out there. And the only way to deal with them — and by the way, I’ve come to the conclusion, and I hope you have, that therapy is not going to work.
— Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nov. 4, 2002
And, therefore, it’s important for all of us in elective office to be clear-eyed about the threats we face, to see the world exactly the way it is, not the way we wish it would be. In order to protect America from current threats and future threats, we’ve got to be cold-eyed realists.
— Is it “clear-eyed” or “cold-eyed”? Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nov. 4, 2002
I want you to think about a scenario in which he becomes the arsenal and the training grounds for shadowy terrorists so that he can attack somebody he hates and not leave any fingerprints behind.
— Failing to make sense yet again, in an apparent justification of war against Saddam Hussein, St. Louis, Missouri, Nov. 4, 2002
There’s a lot of good folks at the federal level and the state level and the local level working hard — listen, any time — we understand the stakes now, and any time somebody is thinking about doing something to America, and somehow we’re reading their thoughts, or reading their mail, we’re moving on them.
— Big Brother Dubya displaying ardent support for the thought police, South Bend, Indiana, Oct. 31, 2002
[The terrorists] kind of ooch around the dark corners of the world and look out, peep out around the corner — in the meantime, send these suicide squads.
— Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 22, 2002
Well, I think that the free world is — must recognize that no one is safe, that if you embrace freedom you’re not safe from terrorism.
— I’m not following the logic here, Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2002
Those of us who love freedom must work together to do everything we can to disrupt, deny and bring to justice these people who have no soul, no conscience, people that hate freedom.
— I guess only good people have souls? And what is the rationale that they hate freedom? Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2002
The attack in Bali appears to be an Al Qaeda-type terrorist — definitely a terrorist attack — whether it’s Al Qaeda-related, or not, I would assume it is. And therefore, it does look like a pattern of attacks that the enemy, albeit on the run, is trying to once again frighten and kill freedom-loving people.
— Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2002
I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: You disarm, or we will.
— Manchester, New Hampshire, Oct. 5, 2002
This is a man who continues to murder his own people, a man who has gassed — used gas on his own citizens, a man who has used chemical weapons on his neighbors, a man who has invaded two countries, a man which hates — who hates America, a man who loves to link up with al Qaeda, a man who is a true threat to America, to Israel, to anybody in the neighborhood.
— On Saddam Hussein, and including unsubstantiated supposition, Phoenix, Arizona, Sep. 28, 2002
We don’t measure success based upon our capacity to destroy [the terrorists’] ability to fight war.
— The big question, then, is how exactly does Dubya measure success? Denver, Colorado Sep. 27, 2002
It’s not a very glamorous war from the sense that the cables and all the air time can cover, but it’s happening.
— Too bad this war isn’t glamorous, Houston, Texas, Sep. 26, 2002
This is an American issue, a uniquely American issue. And it’s — as I reminded the members, that — I say uniquely American issue because I truly believe that now that the war has changed, now that we’re a battlefield, this man poses a much graver threat than anybody could have possibly imagined. Other countries, of course, bear the same risk.
— Dubya sort of abandons the “uniquely American” angle toward the end there, Houston, Texas, Sep. 26, 2002
We got the other guy the other day who thought he was going to be — wanted to be the 20th hijacker. He popped his head up, and now he’s in detention. He’s no longer a threat to America and our friends and allies. He’s no longer around.
— Making it sound like he “iced” the guy, Houston, Texas, Sep. 26, 2002
We’re going to stay in Afghanistan to hunt down the killers — they still lurk around. They occasionally come in, and we’ll find them. They kind of bunch up somewhere and they’re just — they think they’re allusive [sic] and they think they’re clever, but they’ve got the mighty United States on them.
— The killers have been dead for more than a year, but yet the mighty United States hunts them down. The misspelling of “elusive” is courtesy of the White House transcript, Houston, Texas, Sep. 26, 2002
[Saddam Hussein is] a man who invaded two countries twice — two countries, once each time.
— Washington, D.C., Sep. 25, 2002
And we’re making progress. It’s hard to tell whether we’re making progress or not, but we are.
— Trenton, New Jersey, Sep. 23, 2002
I want you to remind your kids that when it came to enforcing the doctrine that said either — the doctrine said, if you harbor one of those killers, you’re just as guilty as the killers, that we went into Afghanistan — the first theater we went into, as a great country — with friends, but we went in not to conquer anybody, not to conquer anybody.
— Maybe when Dubya clears his thoughts, he can let us know what it is we’re supposed to be reminding the kids of, Trenton, New Jersey, Sep. 23, 2002
The other day, as you noticed, there was a fellow hiding in the dark caves — or dark corners, not caves, it was in the city, dark — dark corners of a city in Pakistan. He was going to be the 20th hijacker, bin al-Shibh. He wanted to come here to kill. He didn’t make it, because we fortunately did not give him access.
— Umm, Dubya, I’m not really sure if we can call the results fortunate since we failed to deny access to the other 19 hijackers, Trenton, New Jersey, Sep. 23, 2002
Speaking about barbaric regimes, we must deal with probably one of the most — not probably — one of the most real threats we face, and that is the idea of a barbaric regime teaming up with a terrorist network and providing weapons of mass destruction, to hold the United States and our allies and our friends blackmail.
— Besides being logically murky in the “let’s go to war to prevent maybes and what-ifs” department, it’s grammatically “interesting”, too, Nashville, Tennessee, Sep. 17, 2002
I want you to remind your children, with all — in the midst of all this war talk, the midst of the — on the television screens seeing our troops, and all the stuff going on — remind them that this mighty nation went into a country as we upheld that doctrine.
— Kids love Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, cotton candy, and now… doctrine, Lamar Alexander for Senate Luncheon, Nashville, Tennessee, Sep. 17, 2002
They’re nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded killers. You’ve just got to understand that about the nature of the enemy. They hate us because we love. They hate, we love freedom, is why they hate us, and we’re not going to quit loving freedom.
— More drivel for the masses, Davenport, Iowa, Sep. 16, 2002
The best strategy, and only strategy, to defend the homeland is to chase the killers down, one at a time, and bring them to justice. It’s if they’re in a cave, we head into a cave. If they’re in some shadowy neighborhood, we’ll finally put the spotlight on the shadowy neighborhood.
— What killers? The killers of Sept. 11 are dead, Dubya. Are we defending the homeland from ghosts or from people who have yet to kill anyone? I love “shadowy neighborhood”. Davenport, Iowa, Sep. 16, 2002
I want to send the signal to our enemy that you have aroused a compassionate and decent and mighty nation, and we’re going to hunt you down.
— No, I didn’t make this one up. Louisville, Kentucky, Sep. 5, 2002
And [the terrorists] understand one thing about us, too — when we need to be plenty tough, we’re going to be plenty tough. And they’re learning another thing about America. When we need to be compassionate and loving, we can be compassionate and loving, too.
— Apparently Dubya’s taking on the enemy with compassion and love when necessary, Louisville, Kentucky, Sep. 5, 2002
We value a free press. We value freedom. And the more we value freedom, the more they hate us. That’s why. That’s why the enemy still exists.
— Which of course does nothing to explain his administration’s freedom-destroying penchant for secrecy, Louisville, Kentucky, Sep. 5, 2002
This is one of these kind of wars where things happen and you just don’t know about it. But I bet we have hauled in over a couple of thousand of these people.
— I’m really getting scared now. This guy’s in charge of the war, right? South Bend, Indiana, Sep. 5, 2002
They hide in caves. See, this is a different kind of war. And part of my responsibilities as your President is to remind people about the realities that we face in America. One of the realities is, is that these people hide in caves.
— Thanks for the education, Dubya. South Bend, Indiana, Sep. 5, 2002
So long as we love freedom, which we’ll do forever, and so long as this enemy is — still stand, they’re going to come and try to get us.
— Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sep. 2, 2002
They’ve hijacked a great religion and they’re willing to kill innocent people in the name of their sordid attitude about the future.
— Ambiguously worded condemnaton of the enemy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sep. 2, 2002
In the old days, you could count tanks and figure out how strong the enemy was. This is an enemy that hides in caves. They try to find the darkest cave, the deepest cave, and then they send youngsters to their suicidal deaths. It’s a different kind of hater than we’re used to.
— The old “haters” used tanks, I guess, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sep. 2, 2002
I’m sure your kids, they’re wondering, why would you hate America? We didn’t do anything to anybody. Well, they hate America because we love freedom.
— I have never heard a terrorist group claim to be against the love of freedom, and claiming the USA has never done anything to anybody is about as false as it gets, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sep. 2, 2002
I want the students to understand here why someone would want to hurt America in the first place. And it’s because your country loves freedom. That’s why. We love freedom.
— That doesn’t really make sense, Dubya, Little Rock, Arkansas, Aug. 29, 2002
You all have got to understand the best way to protect the homeland security is to chase these killers, these people down, one by one, and bring them to justice… I say justice because we don’t seek revenge. We seek justice. We seek justice. And you need to know that when we go into a country to enforce a doctrine — see, there was a doctrine that said, if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you’re just as guilty as the terrorist.
— Talking about the doctrine as if its inception was out of his hands (which should make us all more fearful), Little Rock, Arkansas, Aug. 29, 2002
They act out of hatred. We don’t seek revenge. We seek justice out of love.
— And via cruise missile, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Aug. 29, 2002
The stakes are these — whether or not our children can grow up in a free and peaceful world. Those are the stakes. And that’s why I talk about making sure that the world’s worst leaders aren’t able to develop and harbor the world’s worst weapons. Now, listen, I’ve got a lot of tools at my disposal, and I’m a patient, patient man. But I understand freedom. And I understand history has put the spotlight on this country. And so long as I’m the President, this country isn’t going to blink, we’re going to lead.
— I presume Dubya’s exempting himself from the “worst leaders with the worst weapons” clause. I don’t know what the having tools and being patient parts refers to at all. Las Cruces, New Mexico, Aug. 25, 2002
My call to people in this country is that if you want to join on the war on terror, if you want to fight evil, love your neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself.
— What? Santa Ana, California, Aug. 23, 2002
[The enemy] can’t stand the thought of Republican and Democrat actually getting along.
— Off on a pointless tangent about what he thinks the enemy thinks, Santa Ana, California, Aug. 23, 2002
I believe the enemy has wakened a spirit in this country that understands in order to fight evil, in order to fight evil — that in order to fight evil, you can do so by loving your neighbor just like you’d like to be loved yourself.
— What? Stockton, California, Aug. 23, 2002
People ask me how can they help in the war against terror. My answer is, love a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself.
— What? Central Point, Oregon, Aug. 22, 2002
You can’t measure progress by which hedge row we’ve taken.
— On the “War on Terror”, Central Point, Oregon, Aug. 22, 2002
And speaking about hauling them in, the United States and our coalition and friends have pulled in over a couple of thousand of them. And there’s another couple of thousand that weren’t quite so lucky.
— Casually referencing the death of thousands of presumed terrorists, at the hands of coalition forces, Central Point, Oregon, Aug. 22, 2002
This is a different kind of war than we’re used to. This isn’t a war where these infantries go marching across the plains or hide in hedgerows or formations of aircraft go streaming across our skies.
— Going off on a favorite tangent, and adding hedgerows this time around, Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, Aug. 15, 2002
But we’re slowly but surely making progress, and we’re enforcing the doctrine that says, either you’re with us or you’re with the enemy, and if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed one, you’re just as guilty as those who killed thousands of Americans on September the 11th.
— Dubya completely ignoring that 1 out of 6 of the people killed on September 11 were foreign nationals from 90 countries, as usual, Aug. 14, 2002
There’s a lot of war talk these days, as there should be, but it’s all aimed at making sure the world is peaceful.
— Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, July 18, 2002
It’s important for our country to understand this new war of the 21st century is really not like any other war we’ve fought. You see, we fight people who, on the one hand, send youngsters to their death and they, themselves, try to hide in a cave.
— That really sums up what’s different about this war. Thanks, Dubya. Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, June 24, 2002
We don’t take a bunch of polls and focus groups to tell us what — to how to, to how to — to what we ought to do in the world.
White House, Mar. 21, 2002
[so, basicly, the opinion of the voters doesn’t matter?]
Ah, isn’t Bush brilliant? This man is starting a “war”, my friends. Isn’t it time everyone woke up and had him removed from office???