The goodwill has not yet been returned

Bush’s Veterans Day proclamation says that veterans “ensured that America remained what our founders meant her to be: a light to the nations, spreading the good news of human freedom to the darkest corners of the earth.” He does know that America is not the same thing as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, just more heavily armed, right?

This morning, Bush attended the 2007 Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Products Association Fall Conference. Since it’s Halloween, he went as a vegetable.


He had a very important reason to be there, indeed so important that he felt obligated to impart that reason not once, but twice, using, if you will, alternative phraseology: “One of the reasons I’ve come by is to remind you how important you are to our economy. In other words, I’m the kind of person who believes that it’s important for those of us in government to encourage people to take risk and to take investment.”

He introduced Bill Cyr: “I asked Billy where he works. He said, well, I run Sunny Delight beverage company. I said, well, Billy, I quit drinking. (Laughter.) He said, that’s not that kind of alcohol.” A little fixated, are we, George?

A VERY CHIMPY HALLOWEEN: “This morning I was with the Vice President. I was asking him what costume he was planning. He said, well, I’m already wearing it. (Laughter.) Then he mumbled something about the dark side of the force.” Do they really think they can soften Cheney’s image by joking about how evil he is?

WHAT GEORGE LOVES: “I love the fact that people say, I own a business. Ownership is a central part of making sure this country is a helpful -- hopeful country.”


GEORGE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE WORD MEMORIALIZED MEANS: “We’re making some progress in convincing people in Washington that low taxes ought to be memorialized in permanent policy.”

WHAT KIND OF PERSON GEORGE ISN’T: “In order to get out of a recession and recover from an attack on the United States, we cut taxes on everybody who pays taxes, because I’m not the kind of person that says, we’re going to cut taxes on you because of your political affiliation and not because of you -- on you because of yours.” I’m glad he’s not the kind of person that says that.


WHEN VEGETABLES TALK: “I think it’s good for agriculture to say, let’s trade.”

EMPOWERMENT! “And one way to become less dependent on oil is to be able to grow products that empower our automobiles.”

PHILOSOPHER IN CHIEF: “Here’s my philosophy -- that government ought to trust private medicine; that we’ve got a fabulous health care system.”

IN OTHER... OH, YOU KNOW: “Under the [S-CHIP] proposal that came to my desk, more than half the children in America could be eligible for government health care. In other words, by expanding eligibility, it means that more than half the children in America would become eligible for this federal program.”

I’D LIKE TO RETURN THIS GOODWILL, PLEASE; IT SEEMS TO BE BROKEN. “I vetoed it. And my veto was sustained. And then I put out the word to Congress, I’d like to work with you on a better bill. And unfortunately, the goodwill has not yet been returned.”


GEORGE BECAME TO ANALYZE: “When I first came to Washington, I said, well, maybe this isn’t the proper federal role; we’ll let the states handle it. And then when I became to analyze the cost to the federal government of these junk lawsuits I determined it was a federal role to do something about them.”

GEORGE HAS A DREAM: “The dream is, is that all of us will have a -- our medical records on a little disk, a little chip that we can carry with us, that will be secure from prying eyes, but nevertheless, will be a part of wringing out cost inefficiencies in a industry that needs to have cost inefficiencies wrung out.” Maybe he should cut down on the nachos before bedtime.

WHAT GEORGE LIKES: “I like it when the after-tax revenues -- income are up.”

WHAT GEORGE KNOWS: “I know it’s necessary to do the hard work now so the first chapters of the 21st century will be positive chapters.” 9/11, the Iraq War, you know, positive chapters.