You wouldn’t normally hear me stand up for President George W. Bush. I think his mission to go to war in Iraq was the height of belligerent jingoism, and his unfortunate (but unavoidable in America) referral to religion as a guiding force in his politics is disturbing and gives me serious pause. One thing I think is extremely unfair, though, is how often people take the slips of the tongue or accidents of grammar to which the President is somewhat prone and using them to imply that he is stupid.

I’m sorry if I’m a killjoy, but really: are you telling me you’ve never said the wrong thing in public? Are you suggesting that you’ve never used a phrase which could mean something you didn’t intend it to mean? Even worse, are you suggesting you’ve never tried to make a joke, only to see it fall flat? If so, you must be a shockingly dull person.

Case in point, an early Bushism was his statement in 2000 that “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” Clearly, here, he is making a bleeding joke. What’s so wrong with trying to lighten the mood? Do politicians have to be serious all the time? In fact, almost every time I read or hear a ‘funny’ George Bush quote, I either understand what he meant to say, or it’s clear he was attempting some Oscar Wilde-ish wit which has been misinterpreted only because the world is prejudiced against his background and feel that because he has a Southern accent he must actually be Forrest Gump.

Other examples:

  • “I know how hard it is to put food on your family”. (I could get a quote like that from any politician by lopping off the last word in one of their sentences, to be honest)
  • “I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here.” (What’s wrong with that? Can’t he read a summary or watch a video?)
  • “A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there’s no question about it.” (And I know if Churchill had said that we’d hold it up as a shining example of British wit.)
  • “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.” (Okay, yes. That one is funny.)

The truth is, in the world of plastic politicians and media personalities, Bush’s Bushisms were a breath of fresh air – Bush has always appeared as a human, with flaws and with foibles. So what if he wasn’t a wonderful public speaker and sometimes got his words muddled in his head? He still went ahead and did what he felt was right – even if he made some terrible mistakes along the way.

Gordon Brown is not a very good public speaker either, and unlike Bush he fails to make up for it with innocent charm. Brown doesn’t even try to crack jokes, speak without serious preparation or laugh openly at himself – and his speech is all the worse for it (in fact he has a tendency to make me reach for the remote). Whilst Cameron is a good speaker and Obama is an absolute inspiration, by criticising Bush and implying that he is stupid because he shows charisma, we’re actively encouraging a world in which all politics is plastic and without personality or nuance.

It seems, too, that it was Bush himself who gave us the perfect words to end this post, summing up exactly how we should all feel about the end of his time as President:

“I think we all agree, the past is over.”