Bush: Comedian in Chief?

More of this Feature • Part 1: That's My Bush! • Part 3: My First Presidentiary: a Scrapbook by George W. Bush

Related Resources • Clinton's "Final Days" Spoof Video • Best Bush Humor Links • Bushisms

George W. Bush made his debut as a stand-up comic last month — to rave reviews. He let loose with a bit of self-deprecating humor at two different Washington media galas, showing he can beat his critics to the punch line.

At the Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner, he pulled out a newly published book of Bushisms and explained the hidden brilliance behind some of his oft-cited verbal gaffes.

• Explaining his infamous remark "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Bush said, "If they would read it closely they would see I'm using the transitive plural tense, so the word 'is' are correct"; 

• Explaining what he meant when he said "We ought to make the pie higher," Bush said, "It is a very complicated economic point I was making there. Believe me, what this country needs is taller pie"; and 

• Reflecting on his statement "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully," Bush said, "You see, anyone can give you a coherent sentence. But this takes you to an entirely new dimension."

"In my sentences I go where no man has gone before," Bush concluded. (Click here for the full transcript.)

At the Gridiron dinner, the Fourth Estate's annual talent show, Bush answered anyone who might suggest he is dim, inarticulate, or a puppet relying on Vice President Dick Cheney to make all the important decisions.

"To those people I say ...," Bush said, casting a deadpan nod in Cheney's direction. "Dick, what do I say?"

He continued:

"Those stories about my intellectual capacity do get under my skin. You know for a while I even thought my staff believed it. There on my schedule first thing every morning it said, 'Intelligence briefing.'"

The only low point in Bush's comic debut came when he opened with a bizarre joke about poisoning people at the Radio & TV Correspondents dinner. The bit involved arsenic and the 3,000 glasses of water being served at the Washington Hilton — and it landed with a thud. Still, Dubya's unsavory moment was no match for Comedy Central's Ben Stein, who was billed as the evening's entertainment. Here was his lame attempt at humor: 

"I bear with me a letter that was given to me by a friend who worked at the Clinton White House," Stein said. 

"Dear Mr. Hinckley, I wanted to drop you a short note to say how thrilled we are that you've made a full and complete recovery. We are delighted that you are completely cured and are able to rejoin the community of productive human beings in this country. Accordingly, I send with this attached a full and complete pardon and wish you the best of luck in your future career. Sincerely, William Jefferson Clinton. P.S. Bill O'Reilly is dating Jodie Foster."

Joking about assassinations in Washington is bad enough. But joking about it on the eve of the 20th anniversary of John Hinckley Jr.'s shooting of Ronald Reagan, while speaking in the very hotel where it occurred, takes tactlessness to a whole new level. And worst of all, he lifted the lame "joke" from the Internet.

Needless to say, Stein's performance was an unmitigated disaster.

Next stop on Bush's tour of the political comedy circuit: the White House Correspondents dinner on April 28. Bush is off to an impressive start, but he'll have a hard time topping the memorable performance Clinton turned in last year when he screened his critically acclaimed lame-duck video.

Related Links
• Bush Trades Jokes With Ozzy Osbourne
• Funny Political Quotatios
• The Latest Bushisms