“And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 15, 2004
“I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. You’re doing a heck of a job. You cut your teeth here, right? That’s where you started practicing? That’s good. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me.” ?George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 2004
“I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 25, 2004
“Like you, I have been disgraced about what I’ve seen on TV that took place in prison.” ?George W. Bush, Parkersburg, West Virginia, May 13, 2004
“My job is to, like, think beyond the immediate.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 21, 2004
“This has been tough weeks in that country.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2004
“Coalition forces have encountered serious violence in some areas of Iraq. Our military commanders report that this violence is being insticated by three groups.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2004
“Obviously, I pray every day there’s less casualty.” ?George W. Bush, Fort Hood, Texas, April 11, 2004
“Earlier today, the Libyan government released Fathi Jahmi. She’s a local government official who was imprisoned in 2002 for advocating free speech and democracy.” ?George W. Bush, citing Jahmi, who is a man, in a speech paying tribute to women reformers during International Women’s Week, Washington, D.C., March 12, 2004
“The march to war hurt the economy. Laura reminded me a while ago that remember what was on the TV screens ? she calls me, ‘George W.’ ? ‘George W.’ I call her, ‘First Lady.’ No, anyway ? she said, we said, march to war on our TV screen.” ?George W. Bush, Bay Shore, New York, Mar. 11, 2004
“God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear.” ?George W. Bush, Los Angeles, Calif., March 3, 2004
“Recession means that people’s incomes, at the employer level, are going down, basically, relative to costs, people are getting laid off.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2004
“The march to war affected the people’s confidence. It’s hard to make investment. See, if you’re a small business owner or a large business owner and you’re thinking about investing, you’ve got to be optimistic when you invest. Except when you’re marching to war, it’s not a very optimistic thought, is it? In other words, it’s the opposite of optimistic when you’re thinking you’re going to war.” ?George W. Bush, Springfield, Mo., Feb. 9, 2004
“But the true strength of America is found in the hearts and souls of people like Travis, people who are willing to love their neighbor, just like they would like to love themselves.” ?George W. Bush, Springfield, Mo., Feb. 9, 2004
“In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn’t serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences.” ?George W. Bush, Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004
“There is no such thing necessarily in a dictatorial regime of iron-clad absolutely solid evidence. The evidence I had was the best possible evidence that he had a weapon.” ?George W. Bush, Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004
“The recession started upon my arrival. It could have been ? some say February, some say March, some speculate maybe earlier it started ? but nevertheless, it happened as we showed up here. The attacks on our country affected our economy. Corporate scandals affected the confidence of people and therefore affected the economy. My decision on Iraq, this kind of march to war, affected the economy.” ?George W. Bush, Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004
“My views are one that speaks to freedom.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
“See, one of the interesting things in the Oval Office ? I love to bring people into the Oval Office ? right around the corner from here ? and say, this is where I office, but I want you to know the office is always bigger than the person.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
“More Muslims have died at the hands of killers than ? I say more Muslims ? a lot of Muslims have died ? I don’t know the exact count ? at Istanbul. Look at these different places around the world where there’s been tremendous death and destruction because killers kill.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004
“Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiteracy level of our children are appalling.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004
“Just remember it’s the birds that’s supposed to suffer, not the hunter.” ?George W. Bush, advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, N.M., Jan. 22, 2004
“I want to thank the astronauts who are with us, the courageous spacial entrepreneurs who set such a wonderful example for the young of our country.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C. Jan. 14, 2004
“I was a prisoner too, but for bad reasons.” ?George W. Bush, to Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, on being told that all but one of the Argentine delegates to a summit meeting were imprisoned during the military dictatorship, Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 13, 2004
“One of the most meaningful things that’s happened to me since I’ve been the governor ? the president ? governor ? president. Oops. Ex-governor. I went to Bethesda Naval Hospital to give a fellow a Purple Heart, and at the same moment I watched him?get a Purple Heart for action in Iraq ? and at that same ? right after I gave him the Purple Heart, he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States ? a Mexican citizen, now a United States citizen.” ?George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2004
“And if you’re interested in the quality of education and you’re paying attention to what you hear at Laclede, why don’t you volunteer? Why don’t you mentor a child how to read?” ?George W. Bush, St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 5, 2004
“So thank you for reminding me about the importance of being a good mom and a great volunteer as well.” ?George W. Bush, St. Louis, Mos., Jan. 5, 2004