George W. Bush's Best Moment in Office? A Presidential Fish Story...

[Skinner]

Bush's best moment in office? Reeling in big perch
BERLIN, May 7, 2006 (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush told a German newspaper his best moment in more than five years in office was catching a big perch in his own lake. "You know, I've experienced many great moments and it's hard to name the best," Bush told weekly Bild am Sonntag when asked about his high point since becoming president in January 2001. "I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound (3.402 kilos) perch in my lake," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. (Source)

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Clarification of Remarks by President George W. Bush in Berlin
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2580

WASHINGTON, May 7, 11:07 AM -- The White House Press Office has issued the following clarification of remarks by President Bush in Berlin with regard to his "best moment" as President of the United States:

When asked to name his best moment in office, President George W. Bush meant to say, "I am most proud of our work fighting the global War on Terror. As president, I feel I have a responsibility to bring the evil doers to justice."


Bush's best moment in office? Fighting War on Terror (REVISED)
BERLIN, May 7, 2006 (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush told a German newspaper his best moment in more than five years in office was fighting the global War on Terror. "I am most proud of our work fighting the global War on Terror," Bush told weekly Bild am Sonntag when asked about his high point since becoming president in January 2001. "As president, I feel I have a responsibility to bring the evil doers to justice," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

It was unclear whether the president considered fighting the global War on Terror to be a single good moment, many different good moments, or one very long extended good moment that lasted for multiple years.

The president's comments served to highlight the uneven legacy of his administration in the fight against terror. Nearly five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden remains at-large, and no one in the Administration seems to have any clue where he is. Our nation's seaports remain virtually unprotected, and little or no effort has been made to fix the problem. Administration policies in the Middle East and elsewhere have stoked anti-American feelings around the globe, and have served as a catalyst for terrorist recruitment efforts...

***

Clarification of Remarks by President George W. Bush in Berlin (SECOND CLARIFICATION)
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2580

WASHINGTON, May 7, 12:40 PM -- The White House Press Office has issued the following re-clarification of remarks by President Bush in Berlin with regard to his "best moment" as President of the United States:

When asked to name his best moment in office, President George W. Bush meant to say, "I think that my best moment as president was when we toppled the evil dictator Saddam Hussein. We're spreading freedom and democracy, and I am very proud of what we have achieved."


Bush's best moment in office? Toppling Saddam Hussein (SECOND REVISION)
BERLIN, May 7, 2006 (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush told a German newspaper his best moment in more than five years in office was fighting the global War on Terror. "I think that my best moment as president was when we toppled the evil dictator Saddam Hussein," Bush told weekly Bild am Sonntag when asked about his high point since becoming president in January 2001. "We're spreading freedom and democracy, and I am very proud of what we have achieved," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

The president's rosy remarks stand in stark contrast to the reality on the ground in Iraq. Three years after the war began, more than 2400 American troops have been killed in the conflict, the government has spent more than $300 billion, the outcome is far from certain, and the United States military is digging in for a prolonged occupation with no end in sight...

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Clarification of Remarks by President George W. Bush in Berlin (THIRD CLARIFICATION)
...When asked to name his best moment in office, President George W. Bush meant to say, "The 2001 tax cuts were my greatest achievement." ...


Bush's best moment in office? 2001 Tax Cuts (THIRD REVISION)
...The United States federal budget deficit is worse than it has ever been under any administration in history...

***

(FOURTH CLARIFICATION)
..."Medicare prescription drug benefit"...


(FOURTH REVISION)
...America's seniors are confused and angry...

***

(FIFTH CLARIFICATION)
..."When I defeated Al Gore in 2000"...


(FIFTH REVISION)
...the highly controversial Supreme Court decision that threw the election to the guy who got fewer votes...

***

(SIXTH CLARIFICATION)
..."national energy policy"...


(SIXTH REVISION)
...$3 per gallon for gasoline...

***

(SEVENTH CLARIFICATION)
Katrina?


(SEVENTH REVISION)
Are you kidding?

***

Clarification of Remarks by President George W. Bush in Berlin (EIGHTH AND FINAL CLARIFICATION)
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2580

WASHINGTON, May 7, 9:12 PM -- The White House Press Office has issued the following clarification of remarks by President Bush in Berlin with regard to his "best moment" as President of the United States:

When asked to name his best moment in office, President George W. Bush incorrectly stated the weight of the fish that he caught. The perch was 5 pounds (2.267 kilos).

Disregard all previous clarifications.

[babylonsister]

1. Is this a fish(y) story?

Love it! :thumbsup:

[Mugsy]

12. Now THAT's what I call "a fish story"!

"Uh, what he MEANT to say was..."

You know, when I "meant to say" something that requires clarification, I might have described something "badly", but it usually beared SOME resemblence to the same story ("I didn't mean to say your baby was ugly, what I MEANT TO SAY was that he looks just like his daddy!" not "What I MEANT TO SAY was 'Did you watch Jeopardy last night?'").

[MsMagnificent]

35. Love the resume

in your signature, Mugsy :)

[LibDemAlways]

2. Love it, skinner. The Reuters article stated that

chimp's comments were translated from the German, so expect the "authorized English version" to be released by the WH tomorrow to read something along the lines of :

"My proudest moment was when we caught Saddam Hussein. He was a big fish and our brave troops were perched to reel him in and they did."

[The Witch]

3. Skinner, you freaking rock.

And that is no fish story.

[Dudley_DUright]

4. Had me going there for a moment, Skinner

:rofl:

[karlrschneider]

5. Jeezus David, don't do that to me!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Guess I'll just close one eye and fart.
:eyes:
:evilgrin:

[countingbluecars]

6. I love it! eom

[Redneck Socialist]

7. Bush lies again (sigh)

I can only assume that something was lost in translation. NANFA (North American Native Fishes Association) lists four species of perch in texas. Yellow Perch(non-native),Logperch, Texas Logperch and Bigscale Logperch. http://www.nanfa.org/NANFAregions/tx/Fishlist41.pdf

The world record for Yellow Perch is four pounds, three ounces http://www.schoolofflyfishing.com/resources/worldfreshrecords.htm and the Logperch average about six inches.

So, either GeeDubya is lying his ass off (always possible and quite likely), was drunk as shit and didn't know what he caught, (Likely as well.) or something was lost in translation.(More likely but not as fun.)

He didn't catch no seven pound perch. I used to think that anyone who fished couldn't be all bad. GeeDubya put lie to that delusion. :mad:

PS Funny post Skinner.

[RoyGBiv]

16. Hate to say it ...

But that was the first thing that whacked me in the fact. I've never even heard a rumor of a 7 lb perch.

It really didn't shock me that he would say something like that, trying to help his image as a "good old boy," but damn, he could have told a better lie. Anyone to whom this could possibly be directed would know straight away it was BS.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

18. LOL...you beat me.

I was just going to say that there are no 7.5 lb perch. That's about the size of the largest largemouth bass I've caught. Massive amounts of nuclear waste would be involve to make a perch that big.

[Hubert Flottz]

21. "He caught a 2 pound perch on a 5.2 ounce nightcrawler and the

combined weight was exactly, 7.2 pounds."

Last Clarification : "The pResident NEVER lies he just mis-handles the truth, very often."

[ovidsen]

8. No fish story here!!

Hey, if I didn't post the 'proof', somebody else would have!

Nice essay, Skinner. And I believe every single word of it.

[Demogator]

15. not a perch

the spot on the tail makes me think redfish as well as the mangroves in the background. Looks like the padre island area . This is not a yellow perch or a crappieand the mouth is too small and bottom lipped to be a largemouth bass.
Some folks will believe anything cause the media says it.

from the head of a dead mackerel:
A word to the wise is sufficent ....even google won't help a fool

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mark11727]

17. Shoot! That's bigger than the one * caught in NOLA...!

[LevelB]

9. We should ask to see the fish.

I bet it is a "Big Mouth Billy Bass"

B.

[sellitman]

10. My first reply clarification....

now we know why he is labeled the "Dim Son"

[realFedUp]

11. Go fish

Something smells fishy.

[Canuckistanian]

13. Can Chimp and fish coexist peacefully?

My bet's on the fish.

[Demogator]

14. That's right, the man can't even...

Pick a good fish to lie about, not one that any self respecting fisherman can spot in a moment. Especially a southern boy. now after seeing the picture, it's a clear cold water south padre winter redfish, pale from the water color, but see the spot on the tail and the mangroves in the background? He's fishing tidal flats and cuts around mangrove island tips. And he looks like a jerk doing it.
A speckled perch or what some call a crappie, averages
½ -1 lb. the world record is 5 lb., 1 oz., that's the biggest "perch"and the most likely in a Crawford Tx. pond. But you know he could have had it stocked with Peacock bass and piranha. This could piss some fishermen off. Does me, that such an idiot makes his icon moment a whopper about a mythical fish. Duffus........
Perch, White 1 lb. average, record 4 lb., 12 oz.
Perch, Yellow 1 lb. average, record 4 lb., 3 oz.

from the head of a dead mackerel:
http://www.cafepress.com/aroseisarose

[drm604]

19. I said "terra", it just sounded like "perch". n/t

[democrank]

20. How can you do this to our president?

George Bush is just a plain, ordinary country boy born in a tiny shed in Texas. Of course he loves fishing. I`ll bet he caught a 17.5 inch perch, but the LIBERAL MEDIA took the 1 off and changed it to a 7.5.

If you loved freedom, you would stop ridiculing this great man and write a piece about his inspiring rags-to-riches story, his heroism during the Vietnam War and the time he cleared all the dead brush West of the Mississippi.

[Crankie Avalon]

22. The story was perfectly accpetable to me until his staffers revised it...

...the hooking of a larger then usual fish as his greatest accomplishment while president sounds about right; for once, he said something that had the ring of truth behind it. It's only once they started tinkering with it that it became a "fish story." ;-)

[katinmn]

24. The perch story is destined to become a classic

Had out of town guests all weekend and checked online once for the news yesterday and read about the massive perch. I decided to back away from the screen at that point. Un-fricking-believeable!

[Kellanved]

25. I've posted a link to a complete transcript

Spiegel calls it a "bass", I guess one of the stories was translated twice. The perch is probably the original.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1129461&mesg_id=1129461
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,414977,00.html

[Skinner]

26. Thanks for the update.

I wonder which one is correct -- bass or perch?

[Kellanved]

27. I'll ask on the Spiegel forums.

n/t

[Skinner]

29. The White House transcript says "large mouth bass"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/05/20060507-2.html

Not that that means anything, mind you.

[Kellanved]

30. then the perch is probably a re-translation from German

oh well.

[Arkansas Granny]

32. I just read the whole transcript. First thin, he starts talking about

that damned rug. What a doofus. And the rest of the interview wasn't much better!

[create.peace]

39. OMG- thanks for the link to the transcript - UnEffingBeeLeafable

Bush: I'll give you a quick tour before our interview. So, the first thing that a President does, which I didn't realize, was pick a rug. I have no idea about rugs. And so in this job you've got to delegate. The American President is in a position where there's just unbelievable complexities to the job -- Darfur, Iran -- a whole lot of issues. So I delegated the decision about the rug to my wife. The second thing a President has got to do is have a strategic mind. In order to be successful, in my judgment, as Bush, you've got to constantly think strategically. And so I said to her, you pick out the colors, you be the tactical person, but I want it to say "optimistic person." That's all I wanted it to say. Here is the result. Isn't it beautiful?

BILD: Yes, it is very beautiful.

[liberal N proud]

28. The revision was not bu$h talking

You know that was his aids smacking him up side the head and telling what he really meant was: "I am most proud of our work fighting the global War on Terror"

Which in itself says a lot, best moment is fighting a war. Either way stupid remarks by a stupid man

[tavalon]

31. You know, running one of the best Democratic blog sites on the internets

is enough just by itself, but you are also a damn good satirical writer.

[Buzz Clik]

33. Bush's big bass moment --

... catching a fish that was stocked in his own lake. It ranks right up there with Cheney's hunting prowess with caged birds.

THE PRESIDENT: About 11 acres lake, 17 foot deep. The deepest spot, I put 600 black bass in there a few years ago, and about 30,000 bait fish. And they're about two-and-a-half to three pounds now. A bad time to fish, because the fish are lethargic during the cold. We've got blue gill and shad and perch.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030102-3.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. Bush caught a big mouth bass

Meanwhile we're stuck wtih a big mouth ass

[create.peace]

38. He caught it in his new Think Tank! n/t

[grannylib]

34. *LMAO* hee hee! Good one, Skinner! This is freakin' hilarious.

I have money on the WH coming out with some kind of stupid-ass excuse as to why Dim Son didn't say something 'pResidential'.
I guess he was just being honest for once in his sorry little life - God knows there is nothing to which he can point as a genuine ACCOMPLISHMENT in his illegitimate tenure.

[Nevernose]

36. In the pResident's defense:

Although it has been years since I've been fishing, and even longer since I went fishing in Texas, which has lots of perch, a believe a seven-and-a-half pound perch would be fairly impressive. Catching one is even more impressive when compared to the president's other achievements since his tenure began, such as his liberation of Iraq, victory in the war on terror, and capture of the elusive Saddam Hussein.

[brainshrub]

40. Good point.

When compared to those other achievements, catching a large perch would feel good.

[Bucky]

41. Fuzzy math: 5 pounds of bass = a brazillion ounces (& then Bush cried)

[genieroze]

42. His whole term is a fish story.