President Keeps ‘Em Rolling in the Aisles
08 26 2002
Our Leader
Our President’s remarks during a “Texans for Rick Perry” reception at the Hyatt Regency, Houston, as excerpted from a 6/14/02 press release on the official White House web site:
“You know, when I was one time campaigning in Chicago, a reporter said, would you ever have a deficit? And I said, I can’t imagine it, but there would be one if we had a war, or a national emergency, or a recession. (Laughter.) Never did I dream we’d get the trifecta. (Laughter.)”
Yes, White House transcripts really do include the laugh track.
For the families of Americans who died in the 9/11 attacks or our subsequent military action, Bush’s reduction of their tragedy to snappy one-liner might seem inappropriate. Especially since he’s supposed to help keep that stuff from happening in the first place. But hey, who among us has not made an off-the-cuff joke that was later regretted? I certainly have, many more times than I can remember.
But this insensitive little joke is actually on-the-cuff. That was hardly the first time he used that story about the reporter in Chicago.
A group called Spinsanity did some research and found that the president has used the “trifecta” joke over a dozen times to rationalize why he’s returned the country to deficit spending. It’s an official part of his stand-up routine. In addition, Bush has used the “except in war, emergency, or recession” bit, sans trifecta capper, an additional two dozen times, dating back to last October.
What nobody (including NBC News, New Republic Magazine, and even Bush White House staffers) could find is any evidence that Bush ever mentioned any conditions for deficit spending at any point during the campaign. No reporter, from Chicago or anyplace else, reported any such thing. None has come forward since. And there’s no record of it in any transcript anywhere. About the only thing Bush ever said regarding deficit spending was that his tax-cut wouldn’t necessitate it, even in the event of recession.
What a weird little story to make up, huh?
But then the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler ran across a similar quote: “Barring an economic reversal, a national emergency, or a foreign crisis, we should balance the budget this year, next year, and every year.”
But it wasn’t actually Bush that said it. It was in some Al Gore speeches. So first Bush stole his gig, now he’s stealing Gore’s material too. That’s so uncool.
Al Gore better double lock his bike.
