Quotes of the Morning: Bush on Bush Action

“Too often the temptation in Washington is to look at a major issue only in terms of whether it gives one political party an advantage over the other. Social Security is too important for politics as usual.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, Press Conference, April 28, 2005

"Bush and his aides rarely reveal the political underpinnings of their policy agenda. But their ambitions were evident last month, when a memo by a senior White House strategist concerning the emerging Social Security plan was leaked to the media. The memo, written by Peter Wehner, director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, put the stakes in grand political terms, saying there would be enduring benefits for Republicans if the president's plans succeeded and Democrats came out of the debate as the `party of the past.' `For the first time in six decades, the Social Security battle is one we can win - and in doing so, we can help transform the political and philosophical landscape of the country,' Wehner wrote."
-Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2005

“QUESTION: Do you feel that the number of troops that you’ve kept there is limiting your options elsewhere in the world? …
BUSH: I appreciate that question.
The person I asked that to – the person I asked that to, at least, is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, my top military adviser.
I said, Do you feel that we’ve limited our capacity to deal with other problems because of our troop levels in Iraq? And the answer is no, he doesn’t feel we’re limited. He feels like we’ve got plenty of capacity.
You mentioned the Korean Peninsula. We’ve got good capacity in Korea.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, Press Conference, April 28, 2005

“Joint Chief of Staff chairman Gen. Richard Myers told Congress that the US military ‘would have trouble responding as quickly and effectively as commanders would like if it had to go to war in Iran or North Korea.’ Myers ‘said a sudden military crisis in one of those two nations…would likely force the Pentagon to remobilize reserve and Guard components that have rotated home from Iraq to rest’.”
-USA Today, February 17, 2005

“We've also got to make sure that we continue to reduce regulation. I think an important initiative — I know an important initiative that we're going to be coming forth with here, probably in the fall, is tax reform.
You know, I was amazed by the report the other day that there's some $330 billion a year that goes unpaid by American taxpayers. It's a phenomenal amount of money.
To me, it screams for making the tax system easier to understand, more fair, so that we can — and to make sure people pay their taxes. More fair means pay what you owe.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, Press Conference, April 28, 2005

“And we've heard that rhetoric, haven't we, tax the rich? The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason, to stick you with the tab.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Oct. 6, 2004

“Huh.. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was a liar.”
-Skippy

“What a difference a day makes, baby.”
-Bootsy Collins