Memorable Presidential Bloopers

Oops, Did I Say That?

Since the '08 Presidential Campaign has taken its toll on many, I've decided to compile a list of some memorable bloopers to make the wait less stressful -- enjoy!

Dwight D. Eisenhower

"I just won't get into a pissing contest with that skunk."--1953 - referring to Sen. Joseph McCarthy

John Nance Garner

"The vice-presidency isn't worth a pitcher of warm piss." --after serving as VP to Franklin Roosevelt

Ted Kennedy

"I don't mind not being President. I just mind that someone else is." --1986

Joseph P. Kennedy III

"I've had a tough time learning how to act like a Congressman. Today I accidentally spent some of my own money." --1987 - quoted in Newsweek

Lyndon Johnson

"So dumb he can't fart and chew gum at the same time." --regarding Gerald Ford

Richard Nixon

"I don't give a sh#t what happens. I want you all to stonewall--plead the Fifth Amendment, cover-up, or anything else. If that will save it, save the plan." --1973 - to his subordinates in the White House during Watergate

Al Gore

"You get all the French-fries the President can't get to." --1994 - on being vice-president, quoted in The New York Times

"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.'' --March 1999 - on CNN

George Bush

"It's no exaggeration to say the undecideds could go one way or the other." --1988 - during a campaign rally

"I'm all for Lawrence Welk. Lawrence Welk is a wonderful man. He used to be, or was, or, wherever he is now, bless him." --1989 - not sure if musician Welk was alive or dead

Spiro Agnew

"To some extent, if you've seen one city slum, you've seen them all." 1968

Dan Quayle

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a parent and child."

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."

"You all look like happy campers to me. Happy campers you are--happy campers you will always be." (1989 - during a visit to Samoa)

George W. Bush

"There's Adam Clymer, major-league a@#hole from The New York Times." --September 4, 2000 - commented near an open microphone while campaigning for the presidency in Illinois

Bill Clinton

"Half the time, when I see the evening news, I wouldn't be for me either." 1995

Hillary Rodham Clinton

"I'd be a terrific governor--a terrific president." 1992 - during Bill Clinton's campaign for president, quoted in The Washington Post

***

Count Down: Top Ten Moments In Blooper History

1. Pres. George H. W. Bush, ill with the flu, vomits on the prime minister of Japan, Kiichi Miyazawa, then faints, during a state dinner in Tokyo. (Jan. 8, 1992)

2. Pres. Bill Clinton quibbles about the meaning of the word "is," during inquiries into his relationship with Monica Lewinsky: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If theif heif 'is' means is and never has been that is notthat is one thing ... Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true." (Grand jury testimony given Aug. 17, 1998)

3. Presidential candidate Gov. Michael Dukakis (D, MA) visits a General Dynamics plant in Michigan for a photo opportunity riding an M1-A1 Abrams tank and clutching a mounted machine gun. Filmed wearing a helmet that seems too large for his head, Dukakis looks awkward, out of place, and decidedly uncomfortable. (Sept. 13, 1988)

5. Pres. George W. Bush gives a surprise shoulder massage to a shocked German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at a conference meeting during a G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. (July 2006)

4. After finishing third in the 2004 Iowa caucus, with 18%, Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Howard Dean (VT) exults to supporters, "Not only are we going to New Hampshire, ... were going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and were going to California and Texas and New York ... And then we're going to Washington, DC, to take back the White House! Yeaaaaagggggh!!!" The televised speech and loud scream strike many viewers as peculiar and unpresidential. (Jan. 19, 2004)

6. During a microphone check, unaware that he is being recorded, Pres. Ronald Reagan jokes, "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." (Aug. 11, 1984)

7. Pres. Richard Nixon, while campaigning to mute his Watergate and credibility problems, defends his personal finances at a nationally televised Q&A session with a convention of Associated Press managing editors: "And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice ... people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I am not a crook. I have earned everything I have got." (Nov. 17, 1973)

8. Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D, MA) tries to defend himself against charges that by failing to vote in favor of funds for the Iraq War he was betraying American troops, but ends up fueling the perception that he has taken inconsistent positions on issues: "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it." (Mar. 16, 2004)

9. In the second presidential campaign debate between incumbent Pres. Gerald Ford and his Democratic rival, Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, Ford makes a misstatement widely seen as ridiculous when he declares, " ... there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration." (Oct. 6, 1976)

10. Jimmy Carter loudly bungles the name of a former Democratic vice president and icon during a dramatic part of his acceptance speech for the presidential nomination at the 1980 Democratic National Convention: "And we're the party of a great leader of compassionLyndon Baines Johnson, and the party of a great man who should have been president, who would have been one of the greatest presidents in historyHubert Horatio HornblowerHumphrey." (Aug. 14, 1980)

***

And now for the popcorn: A Video With Some Memorable Bloopers in the '08 Presidential Campaign courtesy of You Tube:

(c) 2008 Judi Lynn Lake

Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her ‘15 minutes of fame’ over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion.