Sunday, January 18, 2009

Change has come to America.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer." - President-Elect Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech on Election Night.

I must say, I still tear up after I watch the YouTube clip of that speech. Even after the 11th time, it is still THAT powerful.

On the other hand, the United States and the RoW will soon bid adieu to the 43rd President of the United States. A man who has no equal. A man who has been labelled the worst of his kind.

Misguided policies, a war on false pretences, a truly shambolic response to a natural disaster... the list of stuff ups is long and, quite frankly, disturbing.

But one thing that Georgie Boy excelled at was bringing a smile to your dial through an unintentional gaffe.

To celebrate the last few days of Dubya's eight years in office, I, like many other sites on 'The Internets', would like to run through what I consider to be George's finest moments.

12 - "Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."

11 - "Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?"

10 - "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."

9 - "I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it."

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

7 - "Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a—you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities."

6 - "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."

5 - "It's a time of sorrow and sadness when we lose a loss of life."

4 - "Because the—all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those—changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be—or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the—like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate—the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those—if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."

3 - "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table."

2 - "In terms of timetables, as quickly as possible—whatever that means."

1 - "I think we agree, the past is over."

An entire list of gaffes can be found here.

I'll be glad to see the back of you Dubya.

I could not resist squeezing one more in -- "I'll be long gone
before some smart person ever figures out what
happened inside this Oval Office."

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