‘I once caught a fish this big…’

May 8, 2006

When asked before the 2004 election about his biggest mistake, [tag]Bush[/tag] couldn’t think of anything. Asked over the weekend about his [tag]best moment[/tag] in office, the [tag]president[/tag] seemed to have trouble again.

During his more than five years in office, Bush has traveled the world’s most impressive cities, met with world leaders and entertained celebrities.

But when the German newspaper Bild asked him to name his best and worst moments as president, Bush gave an offbeat answer about the best moment. […]

Bush admitted it was not easy to pick a best moment because “I’ve had a lot of great moments,” according to a transcript of the Friday interview released Sunday.

“I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7 1/2-pound [tag]largemouth bass[/tag] on my lake,” Bush said, laughing.

Oddly enough, this was a softball question. It was a slow, hanging curve, giving Bush a chance to highlight anything he wanted — his joy at watching the Saddam statue fall, signing one of his tax-cut measures into law, one of his inaugural addresses, a productive meeting with Tony Blair or another head of state, something of substance. Instead, the moment that comes to mind is a 7 1/2-pound largemouth bass.

What’s more, as the New York Daily News noted, that’s not even a particularly big [tag]bass[/tag] by Texas standards. “A largemouth bass has to be more than 15 pounds to crack the top 50 biggest catches, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.”

I realize Bush was probably going for the laugh, but according to the transcript, the president didn’t follow it up with a real highlight of his five years in office; he just let the fish tale stand.

Then again, given this guy’s record, the bass may actually be the highlight of the last five years.

We’ve got it! We’ve finally synthesized 100% pure essence of Bush!

The disdain for the office, the elevation of recreational trivia to fill the gaping hole where public responsibility should be, the awe-inspiring cluelessness, the disregard for history, the rejection of any sense of perspective on his office or his role in it, the absence of any sense that he has ever had strategies or agendas or plans … it’s all there in this one quote! Bottle it and sell it on e-bay, Bild – whatever it is, it’s been proven to supply (at least) twelve years of Presidential Mojo (counting Dad, who had a longer resume but an identical approach to the presidency – and, let’s face it, Jeb’s just a matter of time).

  • Bass? I thought he said perch? Why is ABC covering for Bush? Was a 7 1/2 pound perch too implausible?

  • This is really so sad.

    BC got it in one. This is our vacation president. He’d much rather spend his time on the ranch, far away from the duties of the office his Texas Mafia talked him into taking.

    I thought it sad that George I would race around in speed boats. Boy George II is even more pathetic.

    This man is literally stealing from the American people, accepting $200,000 + a year in salary and returning practically nothing.

  • …the best moment was when I caught a 7 1/2-pound largemouth bass on my lake,” Bush said,

    OK, this is GWB’s defining “out-of-touch” moment: he wants you to know he is a bass fisherman, a regular guy, a good ol’ boy – but he has his own lake.

  • Wait a second…this guy has been the freakin’ LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD for the last 5+ years, and his best moment came while he was ON VACATION??!!? Unbelievable. Some days are just beyond surreal…

  • One of Digby’s readers has translated the first part of the article. Here is another gem :

    Bush points at the crème-colored carpet woven with the US coat of arms, and says laughing: “I have no inkling about carpets.

    In order to be a successful president, you must constantly think strategically. And therefore I said to my wife: You select the colors, you are responsible for the policy, but I want the carpet to spread optimism. Here lay the results. Isn’t it beautiful?”

    He really must like that story. He tells it all of the time. I get the impression that if you were one of his friends and hung out with all the time, you’d find yourself saying to him over and over again, “George, I’ve heard about the fish and the carpet a thousand times. Give it a rest.”

  • Later on, President Bush took the fish and a loaf of bread and fed 5,000 of his supporters at a $10,000 a plate fundraiser for the GOP.

  • On further contemplation, I kind of like the fact that Boy George II admits that governing this country has not been one of his “best moments” 😉

  • A couple of years ago, he answered questions about this lake (his lake): it is artificial and is stocked with fish.

  • The best moment of his pResidency was when he was appointed by the Supreme Court. Coincidentally, that was precisely the moment all our lives went to sh*t.

  • The first reports of this story didn’t mention his laughing. Are we sure that he really was laughing?

  • Love the title … “Dave” is one of my favorite films!
    Gee, do you think it’s possible to get Steve Bridges to finish out Bush’s term?

    BAC
    yikes101.blogspot.com

  • John Aravosis is following up on the fish story, with a claim that the world record Perch was only 4 pounds 3 ounces. He even links to DNR for evidence! His post is here. I located the interview on the German paper Bild’s website and although I don’t speak much German, the quote clearly refers to a “barsch,” (last paragraph oof interview,) which my Dad’s 1929 dictionary is sure is a perch. Maybe a bass makes him seem like a more optimistic guy, just like the oval office rug does?

  • I’m not normally a fan of Rahm Emmanuel, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and ol’ Rahm scores a home run with this one:

    Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Congressman Rahm Emanuel, today released the following statement on President Bush’s “best moment in office”:

    “Five years after President Bush said he would find Osama bin Laden, we’re all glad to hear that all he’s caught is an apparently harmless fish.”

  • [W]atching the Saddam statue fall?

    Fall?

    Fall is wrong.

    That statue was *yanked* down by an Abrams tank.

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