Out of the Mouth of Bush

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/28/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

President George W. Bush may be in the honeymoon period of his new administration, but Jacob Weisberg is ready to throw the book at him. Weisberg's new book, that is: "George W. Bushisms," a collection of about 100 of Dubya's best (though some may say worst) verbal gaffes and other unintentionally funny statements. Weisberg, 36, the chief political correspondent for the online magazine Slate and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, has been collecting Bush quotes for the past two years. As for what defines a Bushism, Weisberg told Time Out New York magazine, "You know it when you see it." Classic Bushisms, he says, run the gamut from malapropisms ("I'm a person who recognizes the fallacy of humans") to subject-verb agreement problems ("Is the children learning?) "Then he'll say things that are just goofy," says Weisberg. "The ideal Bushism is one that combines all of these different problems." Among Weisberg's favorites? "I understand small business growth. I was one," said Bush. Said Weisberg: "I don't even know what you call that -- it's a Bushism."