In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Filling the potholes
It's a frequent Bush line at his stump speeches these days, and according to the transcripts published by the White House, it gets laughter every time. I'm not there, but I can only assume that the laughter the line gets is more of the nervous type. The setup is always the same: Bush begins to thank all the officials who are present for the speech and then thanks the locals, and gives them some "advice," "Fill the potholes," he says. Wow. Funny stuff. The guy's a comedic genius. But seriously, here's the President of the United States, a man who is, in a large part, responsible for the drying up of federal transportation dollars that locals used to supplement road funds generated by local and state taxes and he chides (albeit gently) the locals for not having good roads. Does he even get the connection? Anyway, here are the examples:
I want to thank the Chamber of Commerce, Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce for hosting me. I want to appreciate the Mayor, Tim Hanna, for coming out to say hello. My advice to the Mayor is fill the potholes and empty the garbage. (Laughter.)Link
I'm honored that the Mayor came to see me. (Applause.) Mayor Owen, I appreciate you coming. My only advice is fill the potholes. (Laughter and applause.) Link
I also want to thank the staff for working hard to make sure this slice of heaven is as beautiful as possible. I appreciate so very much State Senator Paul Davis joining us today, Senator. (Applause.) Yes, thanks for coming. I suspect there are some local officials who are here. Thanks for being here. I like to remind local officials to make sure that you empty the garbage and fill the potholes. (Laughter.) Link
And finally, a news story clip that shows that he has used this line over 30 times!
According to the Washington Post, Bush's civic-oriented speeches draw plenty of notice because he constantly promotes pothole prevention. The paper estimates he has referenced the road hazards at least 30 times.
When President Bush spoke at Tampa's NuAir Manufacturing plant in February, he implored the mayors of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Seminole to fill the potholes.
Link
It reminds me of his "Trifecta" joke a while back. He thinks it's funny, so it goes in every speech.
- B 12:33 PM - [PermaLink] -
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