I Yam What I Yam

Everybody chuckled at the Bush’s third grade answer to “what does sovereignty mean in the 21st century” but he had another howler at that UNITY meeting:

ROLAND MARTIN: Mr. President, you remarked in your remarks you said that 8 million people in Afghanistan registered to vote, and as you said, exercised their God-given right to vote.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Right.

ROLAND MARTIN: That may be a right from God, but it’s not guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. In 2000, an estimated 2 million people, half African American had their votes discounted from Florida and Cook County, Illinois, to other cities. Some on it– That cuts into other questions. Are you going to order Attorney General John Ashcroft to send federal election monitors to Florida and other southern states and in this age of new constitutional amendments, will you endorse a constitutional amendment guaranteeing every American the right to vote in federal elections?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes. First of all, look, I can understand why African Americans in particular — you know, are worried about being able to vote since the vote had been denied for so long in the south in particular. I understand that. This administration wants everybody to vote. Now, I — best thing we did was to pass the Helping America Vote Act with over — I think it’s $3 billion of help to states and local governments to make sure that the voting process is fair. I — you know, it’s not just the south. By the way, the voting process needs help all over the country to make sure that everybody’s vote counts and everybody’s vote matters. I understand that. That’s why I was happy to work with the congress to achieve this important piece of legislation. Just don’t focus on Florida. I have to talk to the governor down there to make sure it works.

But it’s the whole country that needs voter registration files need to be updated. The machines need to work. And that’s why there’s $3 billion in the budget to help, Roland. Obviously, everybody ought to have a vote. What was your other question?

ROLAND MARTIN: Should we put it — guarantee it in the constitution.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I’ll consider it. I’ll consider it. What’s your second question? R You said it should be guaranteed in Iraq, why not America?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, it’s not guaranteed in Iraq. People have to show up to vote in the first place. The thing about democracy is people need to step up and decide to participate in the first place. There’s no guarantees people are going to vote. They should be allowed to vote, but the problem we have in our society is too many people choose not to vote. We have a duty in the political process, and you have a duty as journalists to encourage people to register to vote, to do their duty. I’m not saying that — I’m saying that people are choosing. It’s not guaranteed they’re going to. That’s part of the problem that we have in America. Not enough people do vote. You have a duty on your radio stations on your TV stations, to encourage people to register to vote. I have a duty to call them out to vote. Of course, I’m going to try to call them out to vote for me.

The right to vote is not guaranteed unless everybody votes. Jesus H. Christ.

And, I don’t know about you, but I feel much better about Florida knowing that the president is going to talk to his brother to make sure it “works.”

Has there ever been a more stupid president? I don’t see how it’s possible. You can easily see how much more difficult he would have had it if he’d been forced to face a skeptical press more often. How lucky he was to have to only answer to the celebrity press corp instead of real journalists. Too bad about the country, though.