Bush almost admits a mistake.

On January 13, 2005, George Bush had a roundtable interview session with reporters from 14 newspapers. Don't look for the transcript on the White House web site, however, because it is not there. As the AP reported (see link above) Bush discussed two of his most famous lines during the interview.

On July 2, 2003, two months after he had declared an end to major combat in Iraq, Bush promised U.S. forces would stay until the creation of a free government there. To those who would attack U.S. forces in an attempt to deter that mission, Bush said, “My answer is, Bring ’em on.”

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“Sometimes, words have consequences you don’t intend them to mean,” Bush said Thursday. “’Bring ’em on’ is the classic example, when I was really trying to rally the troops and make it clear to them that I fully understood, you know, what a great job they were doing. And those words had an unintended consequence. It kind of, some interpreted it to be defiance in the face of danger. That certainly wasn’t the case.”

So "bring 'em on" actually means "you're doing a great job." Well, "that dog won't hunt," which means "bullshit."

And then George talked about his other classic line:

In the week after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush was asked if he wanted bin Laden, the terrorist leader blamed for the attacks, dead.

“I want justice,” Bush said. “And there’s an old poster out West, that I recall, that said, ’Wanted, Dead or Alive.”’

Recalling that remark, Bush told the reporters: “I can remember getting back to the White House, and Laura said, ’Why did you do that for?’ I said, ’Well, it was just an expression that came out. I didn’t rehearse it.’

“I don’t know if you’d call it a regret, but it certainly is a lesson that a president must be mindful of, that the words that you sometimes say. ... I speak plainly sometimes, but you’ve got to be mindful of the consequences of the words. So put that down. I don’t know if you’d call that a confession, a regret, something.”

(emphasis added). Yeah--he speaks plainly. You know, like it is plain that "bring 'em on" means "you're doing a good job." Now look at the italicized words. Are you telling me that the Leader of the Free World, the most recognizable person in the world, the leader whose words are scrutinized more than any other, did not know until now that he has to be mindful of the words he says? Someone better modify his signature education policy to include No President Left Behind.