Legacy

George W. Bush may possible have been the worst US president in modern history, but at least the man leaves one enduring legacy: thanks to him the English language has a new term called "Bushism", coined to label his regular verbal lapses and mis-pronouncements. BBC News has collected some of the more memorable examples, which make you want to laugh & cry at the same time:

ON HIMSELF "They misunderestimated me." Bentonville, Arkansas, 6 Nov 2000 "There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead." Washington DC, 11 May 2001

EDUCATION "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Florence, South Carolina, 11 Jan 2000 "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.'' Townsend, Tennessee, 21 Feb 2001

ECONOMICS "I understand small business growth. I was one." New York Daily News, 19 Feb 2000 "It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it." Reuters, 5 May 2000 "First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill." Washington DC, 19 May 2003

TECHNOLOGY "Will the highways on the internet become more few?" Concord, New Hampshire, 29 Jan 2000 "Information is moving. You know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets." Washington DC, 2 May 2007

FOREIGN AFFAIRS "For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times." Tokyo, 18 Feb 2002 "The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorise himself." Grand Rapids, Michigan, 29 January, 2003 "I think war is a dangerous place." Washington DC, 7 May 2003 "You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." CBS News, Washington DC, 6 Sept 2006

ON GOVERNING "I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together." Bartlett, Tennessee, 18 Aug 2000 "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best." Washington DC, 18 Apr 2006 "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." Washington DC, 12 May 2008