Bushisms: Bush and Geography

Bush's grasp of geography has never seemed to be the strongest in the world, as these quotes suggest. It would seem to be a necessary requirement for a president, but in his own words: "anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is underestimating."

"The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany." (5th May 2006)

"Wow! Brazil is big." (6th Nov 2005)

"When a drug comes in from Canada, I wanna make sure it cures ya, not kill ya... I've got an obligation to make sure our government does everything we can to protect you. And one -- my worry is that it looks like it's from Canada, and it might be from a third world." (8th Oct 2004)

"I don't know why you're talking about Sweden. They're the neutral one. They don't have an army."

"Iran would be dangerous if they have a nuclear weapon." (18th Jun 2003)

"The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur."

"My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times. From that alliance has come an era of peace in the Pacific." (18th Feb 2002)

"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." (10 Dec 2001)

"Border relations between Canada and Mexico have never been better." (24 Sep 2001)

"But I also made it clear to [Russian President Vladimir Putin] that it's important to think beyond the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would be safe." (1st May 2001)

Finally, one that isn't actually a geographical error, but I couldn't resist anyway.

We actually misnamed the war on terror. It ought to be the Struggle Against Ideological Extremists Who Do Not Believe in Free Societies Who Happen to Use Terror as a Weapon to Try to Shake the Conscience of the Free World." (6th Aug 2004)

You just couldn't make it up, could you?

Technorati tags: george bush bushisms geography international relations usa