"My brother puts his God first, and wife and family second."  Gov. Jeb Bush
"We're all holy sinners.  That's what redemption is all about, it seems to me.  And I'm doing the best I can do, but I don't know whether it's God's will or not.  The truth of the matter is that the people of South Carolina are going to be voting on February 19, and I hope you get to vote.  But I believe in prayer, and I do believe in a personal walk, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."  G. W. Bush, before the South Carolina primary in 2000
"Jesus Christ is my personal savior."  G. W. H. Bush before the South Carolina primary in 1988
Barbara Bush played hostess to Tammy Faye at the Vice President's mansion in 1985.
Gov. Jeb Bush asks voters to support his "smarter brother."  [Hobie Postnote:  Allegations that Gov. Jeb Bush had some "marital problems" may explain this statement.]
The younger Bush has confessed that his greatest weakness is his lack of interest in long books, and that the only statstics he seems to know involve baseball.... Bush speaks without notes and often without much of a point.... "It was pretty short.  He just gave us the highlights."  B. Bertram, on why he like Bush's speech.  N. Kristof,  3/3/00
On a talk radio program in Columbia SC  GW Bush said his favorite movie star was Chuck Norris  NYT 01/10/00
G. W. Bush enrolled in Harvard Business School after being rejected by the Texas Law School
"I'd like to suggest to my liberal friends that they consider voting for Gov. G. Willikers Bush because obviously he believes in affirmative action.  How else to explain the phenomenon of a C- average Yale student being admitted to Harvard graduate school?  (Must be they had yet to fill their quota of young, preppy sons of wealthy, influential alumni.)  Or could it be what was once said about his daddy is even more applicable to him?  To wit, that he was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple..." Linda Badlucco, Carp Lake Mi.

Bushisms:
Don't be takin' a speck out of your neighbor's eye when you got a log in your own.
The woman who knew I had dyslexia -- I never interviewed her.
Families is where our nation takes hope, where wings take dream.
Reading is the basics for all learning.
Rarely is the question asked:  Is our children learning?
Drug therapies are replacing a lot of medicines as we used to know it.
If it means what I'm for, then I'm for it.
You can't take the high horse and claim the low road.
If you don't stand for something, you don't stand for anything.
Never again in the halls of Washington, D.C. do I want to have to make explanations that I can't explain.
Sometimes my brain gets ahead of my words, if you know what I mean.

"If you want to know what I'll do as president , look at my record." G. W. Bush
When GW Bush became governor the first bill he signed was a moratoriam on emission testing to meet federal clean-air requirements.  When the state scrapped the testing program by reneging on a multi-million dollar contract with Tejas Testing Technology, which sued and won a $140 million judgment against the state.  To pay this judgment, Bush and other top state officials raided the state's superfund and other environmental programs for $130 of the 140 million.  Houston is now the smoggiest city in the US.
At a legislative hearing in 1995, Rev. Vaughn leading a group called Citizens for a Cleaner Houston testified that there was no evidence that ozone was a health hazard,  that God "is the only one who can control pollution..."  and a good hard, steady rain would help us all."

"I'm a little worried about a man who tends to stretch the truth in order to get ahead politically."  Bush 5/5/00
"People take their HMO insurance company to court; that's what I've done in Texas and that's the kind of leadership style I'll bring to Washington."
Truth:  One of Bush's first actions after being elected was to veto a "patients bill of rights" that gave patients the  right to sue their HMO or insurance company; and he continued to fight this right until faced with a veto-proof majority, he finally let it pass in 1997 without his signature.
"In our state of Texas I worked with the Legislature, both Republicans and Democrats, to pass a law that says if you come in the top 10 percent of your high school class you're automatically admitted to one of our higher institutions of learning."
Truth:  Although he he did sign this "affirmative access" bill, Democratic state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, the sponsor of the bill said he "developed that plan with the help of some univerisity professors.  And I passed it through the Senate.  Bush never called me, he never wrote about it, he never had any press conferences to testify about the bill. So for him to take credit for it like it was his idea, that's just not right."
"Gun safety starts with enforcing law.  We need to say loud and clear to somebody, 'If you're going to carry a gun illegally, we're going to arrest you.'"
Truth:  Of the almost 800 felons who were denied licenses to carry concealed handguns in Texas, none were prosecuted for violating state possession laws.
"We spend $4.7 billion a year on the insured in Texas."
Truth:  How does he define "we" since $3.5 billion comes from charitable care -- not the state.
During the debate in South Carolina Bush winkingly said McCain had been endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican group.  According to this group, Bush knew that charge was not true.
When asked by a reporter in 1998 if he had ever been arrested for drunk driving, he replied:  "No."  When asked why he didn't disclose his arrest sooner, he said he was trying to protect his daughters.

G. W. Bush was a shareholder and Director of Harken Energy Corporation.  When this corporation ran out of cash despite funds from many friends, Harvard Management, the investment firm that invests Harvard's multi-billion dollar endowment, agreed to invest $20 million.   Bush sold 212,140 his shares on June 22, 1990, for $848,560; in August 1990 Harken posted a $23 million loss and the stock price plumpeted.  Although as an insider he was required to report the sale of his stock to the SEC, he did so 8 month late.  Since the sale was suspicious, the SEC investigated.  GW says the SEC report exonerated him but the SEC said the end of their probe "must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated...."  One question the SEC didn't answer was who bought GW's stock.... (the evidence is despite enormous losses, Harvard bought more shares)
"The smile, as most tactics, has it's risks.  It must not appear foolish or project ridicule; nor should it look like an arrogant smirk."  M. Martel (coach R. Reagan before debates)
In 1997 pollster Frank Luntz advised Republicans that rather than change substance, they only needed to adopt "a new language and more friendly style...."  Thus Bush's emphasis on "children" heart and dreams.  The greatness of America is found in the loving and generous hearts of its people.  Bush's speech on education had 11 "children", his veterans Day speech had 7 hearts and 11 loves.   D. Tannen NYT 1/20/00
One of Bush's ads flashed the word "RATS"  GW said "Conspiracy theories abound.... This ad is coming out of rotation anyways."
"Bush was asked how he would respond to another financial crisis.  He said he would call Alan Greenspan and would gather the facts.  Wonderful!  So would my mother.  But she doesn't think she should be president.... But what would he ask those advisers, and what happens if they disagree?... The best that can be said about Bush is that he ehas tought about the world and decided it's still the 1980s, and he plans to solve the world's problems with his father's advisers."  Thomas Friedman, NYT 10/10/00
"Is there a single person I appoint?"  GW Bush on being asked whether he could overhaul the FDA and reverse approval of the RU-486 abortion pill.  Just as GW was saying he thought the FDA was run by a commission, an aide said the head of the FDA is a single commissioner appointed by the president.  Darrel Rowland, Columbus Dispatch 10/18/00

"Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they think laughable." Goethe
According to Time Magazine (2/2/2000) GW Bush mocked the plea of Carla Faye Tucker by "pursing his lips in mock desperation, he mouths the words,'Please, don't kill me.'"
GW Bush reduced his scheduled time to review death penalties from 30 minutes to 15.
"A system that would take a life must first give justice."  Jack Curtin, Past President of the American Bar Association announcing the ABA's call for a moratorium on executions with a resolution that states:  "Today the administration of the death penalty, far from being fair and consistent, is instead a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency."
Martha Barnett, current President of the American Bar Association sent a letter to GW Bush opposing the execution of a mentally retarded offender.
The Governor of Illinois declared a moratorium on executions after 13 death row inmates had their sentences overturned when they were found to be innocent.

Dick Cheney 's income went from $258,394 in 1992 when he was GWH Bush's Secretary of Defense, to $4.42 million as head of Haliburton Oil.  He gave less than 1% to charity.  Just before he was named as Bush's VP he flew to Wyoming to register to vote since both the President and VP cannot be from the same state.
After numerous business failures, GW Bush borrowed $500,000 and raised $106,000 to purchase a 1.2% share of the Texas Rangers in 1989.  In 1990 he helped sell the voters on approving a sales tax increase to fund a new $190 million stadium.  In 1998 he sold his interest in the baseball team (which with help of the other owners grew to 12%) realizing a gain of over $15 million.