I Look Forward Too
Man, that Sept. 11th Commission report is hot stuff, huh? The clip of Bush they showed this morning prior to the press conference made it look like Bush was avoiding the question about whether or not he would be following through on the Commission’s recommendations :
And the report that they are about to present to me puts out some very constructive recommendations. And I look forward to studying their recommendations and look forward to working with responsible parties within my administration to move forward on those recommendations.As well, we look forward to working with the Congress on the implementation of ways to do our duty. And the most important duty we have is the security of our fellow countrymen.
In the video at least, Bush remarks reminded me of Bush’s plans to “come up with a plan” during the 2000 debates. It also made me realize a consistent theme is Bush’s language. That he loves to answer specific questions with vague statements about what he “look[s] forward to” talking about or working on :
“I look forward to working closely with you to achieve peace and freedom.”“I look forward to talking to you about the need to have a press corps that is vibrant and free, as well as an open political process.”
“I look forward to discussing our progress in ridding the world of this great threat to civilization.”
“I look forward to continuing to work with all responsibility parties in the region, starting to insist that they work with us to stop this terror.”
“I look forward to constructive conversation today and working together constructively throughout the year.”
“I look forward to discussing that with the American people.”
“I look forward to working with you to do the right thing for our friends on the continent of Africa.”
“I look forward to a very frank and constructive dialogue about how to continue our common pursuit against terror.”
“I look forward to a good dialogue on subjects that are on the members’ minds and on my mind.”
“I look forward to working with you to get something done.”
“I look forward to continuing our dialogue in a spirit of cooperation and friendship.”
“I look forward to working with him to advance a bold initiative.”
“I look forward to talking about our need to work together to accomplish some important goals.”
“I look forward to fruitful discussions on the various issues affecting our two nations.”
“I look forward to discussing with you a wide range of issues of our — of mutual concern.”
Now that Bush is an incumbent, it’ll be interesting to see if he can still resort to his little non-answer. I’d love to see John Kerry call him on it in the debates by saying something like “Stop telling us about what you look forward to doing. I want to know what you’ve already done.” Unfortunately, the answer to that question is “not enough”.
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Absolutely. The other thing to notice is Bush’s repetition of the same terms for the same issue. Here, it’s ‘recommendations’ and ‘duty’.
My guess is that, in preparing him for questions, Rove gives Bush a few terms he can easily remember to repeat over and over again for each topic. Here the 9/11 commission report’s conclusions are merely recommendations, and Bush will continue to do his duty.
So when Bush gets up there and they ask him about the report he says ‘recommendations’ three times (because it’s the only word he remembers about them) and then follows up with ‘duty’ twice.
Presto! Instant Press conference.
Comment by Night Owl — July 22, 2004 @ 11:23 am
sometimes i just want to curl up into a ball and sleep until after the elections when there is a more intelligent, compassionate president in office. but then i hope that everyone like me actually does NOT do that, and instead shows up to vote in droves.
everytime i read in black and white how many ways bush ducks issues or relies on (crap) rhetoric to pretend he’s addressing issues, it just makes me want to scream loud enough for the rest of the country to WAKE THE F*** UP.
I’m glad its not just me.
Comment by susannah — July 22, 2004 @ 12:06 pm
Nothing to See Here – 9/11 24-7 edition
Why is the “Justice Department ordering”:http://www.thememoryblog.org/archives/000215.html documents with titles such as “Civil and Criminal Forfeiture Procedure” and “Select Federal Asset Forfeiture Statutes” to be destroyed?
Trackback by Stumax.com — July 23, 2004 @ 11:01 am
He speaks the language of corporate managment, in which strings of meaningless buzz words are strung together and combined with “can-do” phrases like “I look forward to…” The purpose of this language is to confuse the listener while making the speaker seem benevolent and hard-working.
Leadership is important. I look forward to leading on this issue.
Comment by joe — July 23, 2004 @ 11:37 am
Don’t worry, he has a top secret plan that he can’t reveal until Nov. 3. Meanwhile, just remember that he is steadfast, that’s all you need to know.
Comment by merl — July 24, 2004 @ 1:09 am
And he’s got “resolve” by golly. Thats’ all you really need to be president.
Comment by Becky — July 25, 2004 @ 6:30 am
To me the big question is not whether Dubya uses simple language to confuse the electorate and dodge responsibility. He’s been doin that his whole career. The real question—and I have no answer to this at all—is why does it work so well?
Comment by Don Myers — July 25, 2004 @ 8:52 am