Was the Bailout Necessary for Companies 'Too Big to Fail'?

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The discussion centers around the comedic value of George W. Bush's public speaking and the memorable phrases he coined, known as "Bushisms." Key highlights include the release of a list of top Bushisms, such as "misunderestimate" and "mission accomplished," which have provided ample material for comedians and internet humor. Participants reflect on Bush's unique verbal gaffes and compare them to other political figures, including Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin, suggesting that Bush's style has set a high bar for future politicians in terms of comedic potential. The conversation also touches on Barack Obama's perceived lack of humor and the challenges he faces in generating similar comedic material. Additionally, there are debates about the definition of a "constitutional scholar" in relation to Obama, emphasizing his academic background and teaching experience. Overall, the thread highlights the intersection of politics and humor, showcasing how public figures can become sources of entertainment through their verbal missteps.
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No matter what one thinks of Bush, he was as good as gold for comedians and the "internets".

Austin, TX January 7, 2009 – The Top All-Time Bushisms were released earlier today by the Global Langauge Monitor (www.LanguageMonitor.com). Topping the List were:


Misunderestimate,
Mission Accomplished,
Brownie, you’ve done a heck of a job!
I’m the decider, and
I use the Google...
http://www.languagemonitor.com/medi...underestimate’-tops-list-of-all-time-bushisms
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Some of the most puzzling and comic moments are when he just mugs it... you can sort of see the cogs in his brain slow down to a practical stand still.

Very much like the Prime Minister I'm paying to hold office here in Canada... the guy with the helmut hair.
 
I think my favorite one is: “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully”
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/piehigher.asp

Be sure to look at Snopes and read the poem, "Make the Pie Higher" - a poem composed of quotes from GW.
 
So is it true that Obama only picked Clinton as Sec State as a favor to all the standup comics that had supported his campaign?
 
mgb_phys said:
So is it true that Obama only picked Clinton as Sec State as a favor to all the standup comics that had supported his campaign?

By all accounts Obama is no fun at all, but with Bill lurking in the background waiving his finger... Still, there will never be another GW [I pray].
 
There's always Jeb!
A pity GWB doesn't have any sons, the last George III was rather entertaining
 
I think we should not exclude Bush subordinates like Rumsfeld and the known knowns.
 
The best Bush quote of all!

We've had enough Bushes in there
- GHW Bush
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_01/016293.php
 
The big question is: Can he top Dan Quayle?

Dan Quayle quotes have been resurrected and assigned to whatever current candidate happens to be running in every Presidential election since Quayle left office. In fact, quotes from comedians imitating Quayle have been assigned to candidates in every Presidential election since Quayle left office.

Come 2012, will we see e-mails quoting Palin as saying, "But oftentimes I'm asked: Why? Why do you care what happens outside of America?" and e-mails quoting Obama as saying, "The only way we can win is to leave before the job is done."

Or will we see e-mails quoting Palin as saying, "People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history." and Obama as saying, "We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."

Or will we just see e-mails quoting Palin as saying, "I can see Russia from my front yard."
 
  • #10
Ivan Seeking said:
I think my favorite one is: “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully”
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/piehigher.asp

Be sure to look at Snopes and read the poem, "Make the Pie Higher" - a poem composed of quotes from GW.

Ok, ok... I can't take it... :smile:

"Rarely is the question asked... 'is our children learning'?"
 
  • #12
The most disturbing is "I was like a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity."

Eww, I'm kind of grossed out.

Boy, does that put Palin's comment about the difference between a hockey mom and pitbull into a whole new perspective! :eek:
 
  • #15
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully”

This is also my favorite!
 
  • #16
There's even a book:

http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring01/004183.htm"
Observations on a National Disorder
Mark Crispin Miller
2001 / hardcover / ISBN 0-393-04183-2 / 304 pages / 6" x 8" / Current Affairs

Some of the reviews listed on the link above are hilarious:

"This is simply the finest, most comprehensive and masterfully annotated collection of Bushisms to date: a clear reminder to never 'misunderestimate' the ignorance, intellectual laziness, and sheer meanness of our first unelected president." —Barbara Ehrenreich

When I got the the bottom of the page, I was at first a little puzzled by their "If you like this book, we recommend these others":
.
.
pf_lung_cancer_and_bush_as_president.jpg
.
.
What are they implying here?

:smile:
 
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  • #17
A brief detour into Plumberisms:

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/media/play/qt/7078/25109
 
  • #18
Yeeeeeesh...

"I've got a record, a record that is conservative and a record that is compassionated."

—George W. Bush, in March 2000

and

"I have learned from mistakes I may or may not have made."

and sorry...:smile:

I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.

—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000
 
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  • #19
anyone seen this yet?

http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall/
 
  • #20
Oerg said:
anyone seen this yet?

http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall/

Oh my. Bush asked Condi Rice for permission to go to the bathroom?
So the rumours that he wasn't in charge are true.
But all this time we thought it was Cheney.
Hmmmm... I guess that takes a bit of the novelty away from Barack.
 
  • #21
Oerg said:
http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall/
Picture 5 - Vincent Amalvy seems to be completely lost on this one.
Amalvy said:
We don’t understand what is going on. Why does the shadow appear? I suppose it’s a shadow of somebody else beyond the corner.

afp5.jpg


The shadow is clearly Obama's. The effect is likely accidental, but very neat.
 
  • #22
Gokul43201 said:
Picture 5 - Vincent Amalvy seems to be completely lost on this one.

afp5.jpg


The shadow is clearly Obama's. The effect is likely accidental, but very neat.

if you look closely, i think you can see below bush's head what appears to be obama's hand.
 
  • #23
Oerg said:
if you look closely, i think you can see below bush's head what appears to be obama's hand.
Yes you can! It even says so in the caption.

Also, if you look at the bottom right corner you can see the shadow of Bush's head sticking out of his bush*.

*His rosebush, you pervs.
 
  • #24
Very cool shot... like the former president wasn't even there.
 
  • #25
Yeah, got to love how "there's nothing funny about Obama"!

No joke potential at all... nosiree, nothing to see here, nothing at all.

Are the late night comedy shows continue to have staffers attend *every* single event of Obama's to catch a potential mispeak?
 
  • #26
seycyrus said:
Yeah, got to love how "there's nothing funny about Obama"!

No joke potential at all... nosiree, nothing to see here, nothing at all.

Are the late night comedy shows continue to have staffers attend *every* single event of Obama's to catch a potential mispeak?

I not sure I'm even supposed to be commenting on any American President

but I noticed that Dave Letterman steered far and around the "mis-bungled" oath of office... during the inauguration in his "great moments in presidential speeches.
 
  • #27
Funny thing about the oath is that Roberts blew it and Obama knew it.

It is nice to have a President who is a Constitutional scholar.
 
  • #28
Ivan Seeking said:
Funny thing about the oath is that Roberts blew it and Obama knew it.

It is nice to have a President who is a Constitutional scholar.

Obama knew a mistake had been made, and then proceeded to make some himself.

Be careful with the "constitutional scholar" label as you deify Obama. That title should not be so easily earned.
 
  • #29
seycyrus said:
Be careful with the "constitutional scholar" label as you deify Obama. That title should not be so easily earned.
What do you consider a reasonable requirement for earning that title?
 
  • #30
Gokul43201 said:
What do you consider a reasonable requirement for earning that title?

Oh, I don't know... something a bit more rigorous than what one gets by taking the words apart and applying the definitions in a minimilistic manner.

I guess maybe I reserve that title for something more.

I don't think I have even ever hear Obama refer to himself as a "Constitutional scholar". And that's saying a lot for someone with an ego as big as Obama's.

My apologies, keep up the deification!

Edit: This applies to my above post. I edit it here, because the post has already been responded to. In case my sarcasm was missed, Letterman has recalled his staffers whose job it was to follow bush around at every speaking engagement and look for mistakes.

Nothing funny about Obama, nosiree...
 
  • #31
Clearly seycyrus doesn't realize that Obama IS a Constitutional scholar.
 
  • #32
seycyrus said:
Oh, I don't know... something a bit more rigorous than what one gets by taking the words apart and applying the definitions in a minimilistic manner.

I guess maybe I reserve that title for something more.
Like what exactly?
 
  • #33
Ivan Seeking said:
Clearly seycyrus doesn't realize that Obama IS a Constitutional scholar.

No, what is clear is that I realize he meets the minimal requirements of the definition, but as was expressed clearly, think that the term should not be so loosely applied.
 
  • #34
seycyrus said:
No, what is clear is that I realize he meets the minimal requirements of the definition, but as was expressed clearly, think that the term should not be so loosely applied.
So how would you like it applied?
 
  • #35
Gokul43201 said:
Like what exactly?

Oh, I guess maybe teaching the subject for ten years or some other similar length of time, and writing a bunch of historical papers and books.

I think it's obvious what I'm geting at. What is *your* minimum requirement for the title?

Has Obama ever claimed he was a constitutional scholar?
 
  • #36
I don't know if he has called himself that, but he has taught the subject for 12 years at the U-Chicago Law School, according to the wiki.
For twelve years, Obama served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School teaching Constitutional Law. He was first classified as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996 and then as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

The teaching experience is clearly a big point in his favor. But the lack of publications may be a disqualifier, in the traditional sense.
 
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  • #37
seycyrus said:
Oh, I guess maybe teaching the subject for ten years or some other similar length of time, and writing a bunch of historical papers and books.

I think it's obvious what I'm geting at. What is *your* minimum requirement for the title?

Has Obama ever claimed he was a constitutional scholar?

Here's something that may clear this up.

Frumpy credential?
Legal affairs reporters sought out Obama for years before he ran for U.S. Senate or president. CBS News quoted him as "Professor Barack Obama" in a 2000 story on whether African Americans deserve reparations for slavery.
So why didn't Obama play up the law professor -- technically "senior lecturer" -- part of his resume more in his run for U.S. Senate two years ago? Do political strategists consider it a frumpy credential that wouldn't register with voters?

"It's probably not the main qualification people are looking for," admitted Northwestern University law professor Dawn Clark Netsch, a former candidate for Illinois governor. "To suggest anybody is going to be on their feet shouting 'huzzahs' for that -- I don't think so."

"Given the fact that most people are trying to define him before he defines himself, a look at his resume will show he had a variety of experiences," said Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, who teaches law at Georgetown.

Erika Walsh, an '02 grad practicing family law in Chicago, called him "an extraordinary scholar on the law."

"I can't imagine there is somebody out there smarter than he is," she said. "Many of our professors are so brilliant they are eccentric. But Barack Obama has an ability to reach across differences and communicate with people effectively."

Added Janis, "Some professors are just kind of going through the motions with you. He actually seemed to take everyone's point of view seriously. If he could bring that to bear in the international level with foreign dignitaries and heads of state, I think that would put us in good standing with the rest of the world."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/253391,CST-NWS-prof12.stng

And

And those were just the beginning, all annotated with nuggets of known and arcane information about civil rights that clearly illustrated how the United States proceeded from there to here. And here (moving beyond Frederick Douglas’s, Jesse Jackson’s and Al Sharpton’s runs for the presidency) stands Barack Obama, a professor of constitutional and civil rights law (not unlike Browne-Marshall), as well as the first mainstream black candidate for President.

http://www.nobles.edu/home/news_item.asp?id=443&zzSec=school
 
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  • #38
I agree that Obama is an intelligent individual and has taught the classes in question.

I have not found a formal definition of "Constituional scholar".

Certainly the accepted definition lies above what a mere parsing of the words would suggest? Are we not all (or at least a large percentage of those who debate or ever debated constitutional issues) "scholars of the constitution"? I don't think any of us would accept *that* criteria...would we?

There must be a more rigorous criteria. If someone knows the accepted definition, please provide it. I have been asked to provide my thoughts on what criteria would satisfy the phrase, and have done so. Will others do the same?
 
  • #39
seycyrus said:
I have been asked to provide my thoughts on what criteria would satisfy the phrase, and have done so. Will others do the same?
You made an assertion about whether or not the label was justified, so it is only fair that you describe what criteria you used to arrive at this assertion.

I made no assertion of any kind on this matter.

But let me say this: I think that comparing someone who has taught the subject for 12 years at one of the top law schools in the country (over half that time in the highly coveted position of Senior Lecturer) to a bunch of people debating the subject on a discussion forum sounds pretty ridiculous.
 
  • #40
haha some of these were funny. my teacher had a huge poster in our history class of bushisms... some like

'i've been in the bible everyday since I've been the president' hahahahaa...
'this thaw took awhile to thaw, its going to take a while to unthaw' WTF?
'war is a dangerous place.' hahaha
'How can you possibly have an international agreement that's effective unless countries like china and India are not full participants?" -LMFAO

ah man there were more can't really think of them it's been awhile
 
  • #41
Definition of a Scholar:

scholar |ˈskälər|
noun
a specialist in a particular branch of study, esp. the humanities; a distinguished academic : a Hebrew scholar.
• chiefly archaic a person who is highly educated or has an aptitude for study : Mr. Bell declares himself no scholar.
• a student holding a scholarship.
• archaic a student.

Oxford Dictionary
 
  • #42
Gokul43201 said:
You made an assertion about whether or not the label was justified, so it is only fair that you describe what criteria you used to arrive at this assertion.

I made no assertion of any kind on this matter.

Excuse me perfessor!

Since the subject was under discussion, it is only fair that you too provide your thoughts on the matter instead of the endless one-liners. Which is why I asked. Thanks you for your reply.
 
  • #43
I just did, in my previous post. You're welcome.
 
  • #44
seycyrus said:
Excuse me perfessor!

You do realize that Gokul is a high accomplished physicist, right?

Where are you now Gokul... was it MIT?
 
  • #45
baywax said:
Definition of a Scholar:
Oxford Dictionary

I was referring to the difficulty of finding an accepted definition of "constitutional scholar".

But using your definition of the single word from Oxford, I still have problems in applying it to Obama. Did Obama specialize in Constitutional Law, at the expense of what other sub-disciplines?

The other three definitions are, again, loosly applied.

I myself have never heard Obama refer to himself as a constitutional scholar. Perhaps he thinks the title is reserved?
 
  • #46
Gokul43201 said:
I just did, in my previous post. You're welcome.

That's why i thanked you.
 
  • #47
Ivan Seeking said:
You do realize that Gokul is a high accomplished physicist, right?

Where are you now Gokul... was it MIT?

I'll have to visit next time I'm there.
 
  • #48
seycyrus said:
I was referring to the difficulty of finding an accepted definition of "constitutional scholar".

But using your definition of the single word from Oxford, I still have problems in applying it to Obama. Did Obama specialize in Constitutional Law, at the expense of what other sub-disciplines?

The other three definitions are, again, loosly applied.

I myself have never heard Obama refer to himself as a constitutional scholar. Perhaps he thinks the title is reserved?

Is it relevant? How many of these guys would you consider constitutional scholars? http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/biographiescurrent.pdf
 
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  • #49
BobG said:
Is it relevant? How many of these guys would you consider constitutional scholars? http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/biographiescurrent.pdf

I think it is relevant. Especially if there is a *reason* why Obama does not use such a term to refer to himself.

There is a reason why physics students (with complete sincerity) sometimes refer to their instructor as "professor" even though the instructor would never do so, there is a criteria to be met, he knows what it is, and knows he has not met it.

Edit: As for the supreme court justices. I certainly think they specialize in constitutional law, so they certainly satisfy that part of the criteria.
 
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  • #50
"I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system." GWB



And that's the way it is...
 

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