George W. Bush

There’s a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, “I don’t want
you to let me down again.”
– George W. Bush, Boston, Massachusetts, 2000

You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to
concentrate on.
– George W. Bush

I have written a book. This will come as quite a shock to some. They didn’t think I could
read, much less write.
– George W. Bush

The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and
we will not rest until we find him.
– George W. Bush, 2001

I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important.
It’s not our priority.
– George W. Bush, 2002

The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in
America on September the 11th.
– George W. Bush

It will take time to restore chaos and order.
– George W. Bush

I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging.
– George W. Bush, at the dedication of his portrait, Austin, 2002

I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.
– George W. Bush

We must have the attitude that every child in America – regardless of where they’re raised or
how they’re born – can learn.
– George W. Bush

We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from
incredible disease.
– George W. Bush

It’s my honor to speak to you as the leader of your country. And the great thing about
America is you don’t have to listen unless you want to.
– George W. Bush, to recently sworn-in immigrants, 2001

The important question is: How many hands have I shaked?
– George W. Bush

You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.
– George W. Bush, CBS interview, 2006

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.
– George W. Bush

Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.
– George W. Bush

The problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.
– George W. Bush

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch
the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of
American resolve.
– George W. Bush

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the
truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.
– George W. Bush, Greece, 2006

One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.
– George W. Bush

Border relations between Canada and Mexico have never been better.
– George W. Bush

I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my
lake.
– George W. Bush, on his best moment of his Presidency, 2006

I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in
the Oval Office.
– George W. Bush

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch
the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of
American resolve.
– George W. Bush

I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam
Hussein.
– George W. Bush

I’m the commander – see, I don’t need to explain – I do not need to explain why I say things.
That’s the interesting thing about being president.
– George W. Bush

If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.
– George W. Bush

I will have a foreign-handed foreign policy.
– George W. Bush

It was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close
relationship. After all, 60 years we were at war 60 years ago we were at war.
– George W. Bush, to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi 2006

They misunderestimated me.
– George W. Bush

You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.
– George W. Bush

I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I
assured all four of these leaders that I know the difference, and that difference is they pass
the laws and I execute them.
– George W. Bush

It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to
come out of that chamber.
– George W. Bush

When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a
camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.
– George W. Bush

I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate
children.
– George W. Bush

As my life has become more complicated, I treasure the basics; faith, family, and my friends.
– George W. Bush

I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman.
– George W. Bush

Anybody who is in a position to serve this country ought to understand the consequences of
words.
– George W. Bush

It is a ridiculous notion to assert that because the United States is on the offense, more
people want to hurt us. We are on the offense because people do want to hurt us.
– George W. Bush

I don’t know whether I’m going to win or not. I think I am. I do know I’m ready for the job.
And if not, that’s just the way it goes.
– George W. Bush, 2000

We must all hear the universal call to like your neighbor just like you like to be liked yourself.
– George W. Bush

But oftentimes I’m asked: Why? Why do you care what happens outside of America?
– George W. Bush

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.
– George W. Bush, Iowa Western Community College, 2000

It’s very important for folks to understand that when there’s more trade, there’s more
commerce.
– George W. Bush

There’s no such thing as legacies. At least, there is a legacy, but I’ll never see it.
– George W. Bush, to catholic leaders at the White House, 2001

One of my proudest moments is I didn’t sell my soul for the sake of popularity.
– George W. Bush

We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories… and we’ll find
more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven’t found the banned
manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they’re wrong, we found them.
– George W. Bush, 2003

Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!
– George W. Bush, 2004

Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around
the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies
into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people.
– George W. Bush

It’s not Reaganesque to support a tax plan that is Clinton in nature.
– George W. Bush

Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening
from time to time.
– George W. Bush

For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring
alliances of modern times.
– George W. Bush

Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don’t attack each other. Free nations don’t
develop weapons of mass destruction.
– George W. Bush

I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.
– George W. Bush

But all in all, it’s been a fabulous year for Laura and me.
– George W. Bush, showing a new rug in the Oval Office

I want everybody to hear loud and clear that I’m going to be the president of everybody.
– George W. Bush, 2001

I’ve been in the Bible every day since I’ve been the president.
– George W. Bush

The public education system in America is one of the most important foundations of our
democracy. After all, it is where children from all over America learn to be responsible
citizens, and learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic
opportunistic society.
– George W. Bush

These terrorist acts and, you know, the responses have got to end in order for us to get the
framework – the groundwork – not framework, the groundwork to discuss a framework for
peace, to lay the – all right.
– George W. Bush

If the terriers and bariffs are torn down, this economy will grow.
– George W. Bush

I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these
buildings down will hear all of us soon.
– George W. Bush

We will stand up for our friends in the world. And one of the most important friends is the
State of Israel. My administration will be steadfast in support Israel against terrorism and
violence, and in seeking the peace for which all Israelis pray.
– George W. Bush

I miss being pampered.
– George W. Bush, 2010

Well, I think if you say you’re going to do something and don’t do it, that’s trustworthiness.
– George W. Bush

America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we
cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom
cloud.
– George W. Bush

I’m the master of low expectations.
– George W. Bush

The legislature’s job is to write law. It’s the executive branch’s job to interpret law.
– George W. Bush

Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called “walking.”
– George W. Bush

There’s no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were
getting nearly directly overhead.
– George W. Bush

For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is
unacceptable in America. It’s just unacceptable. And we’re going to do something about it.
– George W. Bush

Presidents, whether things are good or bad, get the blame. I understand that.
– George W. Bush

I want each and every American to know for certain that I’m responsible for the decisions I
make, and each of you are as well.
– George W. Bush

I believe the results of focusing our attention and energy on teaching children to read and
having an education system that’s responsive to the child and to the parents, as opposed to
mired in a system that refuses to change, will make America what we want it to be – a
literate country and a hopefuller country.
– George W. Bush

I hope you leave here and walk out and say, “What did he say?”
– George W. Bush

So, I’m lying on the couch and Laura walks in and I say, “Free at last,” and she says “You’re
free all right, you’re free to do the dishes.” So I say, “You’re talking to the former president,
baby,” and she said, “Consider this your new domestic policy agenda.”
– George W. Bush

I don’t care what the polls say. I don’t. I’m doing what I think what’s wrong.
– George W. Bush

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.
– George W. Bush

This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.
– George W. Bush

My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the – in the Middle east to do
everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will
never happen.
– George W. Bush

The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my case.
– George W. Bush, 2000

It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from
overseas.
– George W. Bush

Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs (gynaecologists) aren’t
able to practice their love with women all across this country.
– George W. Bush

One of the very difficult parts of the decision I made on the financial crisis was to use
hardworking people’s money to help prevent there to be a crisis.
– George W. Bush

Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?
– George W. Bush

You know, I could run for governor and all this but I’m basically a media creation. I’ve never
really done anything. I’ve worked for my dad. I worked in the oil industry. But that’s not the
kind of profile you have to have to get elected to public office.
– George W. Bush, 1989

There is no limit to the greatness of America!
– George W. Bush

Our most abundant energy source is coal. We have enough coal to last for 250 years, yet
coal also prevents an environmental challenge.
– George W. Bush

I own a timber company? That’s news to me. Need some wood?
– George W. Bush

Governor Bush will not stand for the subsidation of failure.
– George W. Bush

I also have picked a secretary for Housing and Human Development. Mel Martinez from the
state of Florida.
– George W. Bush, announcing his nominee for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development

Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from
time to time.
– George W. Bush

I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun.
– George W. Bush

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.
– George W. Bush

In my sentences I go where no man has gone before.
– George W. Bush

Never again in the halls of Washington, D.C., do I want to have to make explanations that I
can’t explain.
– George W. Bush

It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.
– George W. Bush

The fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And
when somebody makes a machine, it means there’s jobs at the machine-making place.
– George W. Bush

It’s a time of sorrow and sadness when we lose a loss of life.
– George W. Bush

America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people.
– George W. Bush

I talked with a good man right here. We had a very strong discussion about my confidence in
his abilities.
– George W. Bush, about Alan Greenspan, 2000

This is Preservation Month. I appreciate preservation. It’s what you do when you run for
president. You gotta preserve.
– George W. Bush, during Perseverance Month at an elementary school in New Hampshire, 2000

The thing that’s important for me is to remember what’s the most important thing.
– George W. Bush

I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval
Office.
– George W. Bush, 2008

I thought how proud I am to be standing up beside my dad. Never did it occur to me that he
would become the gist for cartoonists.
– George W. Bush

To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C
students, I say you too may one day be President of the United States.
– George W. Bush