Bushisms: not just a fad

Don't Misunderestimate Bushisms; They Resignate

They may have started out as verbal slip-ups but several of President Bush (news - web sites)'s mangled phrases found their way on Tuesday to a list of the top words of 2002.

The list of most important words of 2002 was drawn up with help from visitors to the yourDictionary.com Web site and from the site's group of linguists, who monitor the use of the English language around the world.

They include the so-called Bushisms; misunderestimate (to seriously underestimate), embetter (to make emotionally better -- the opposite of embitter), resignate (as in "They said this issue wouldn't resignate with the people") and foreign-handed (as in "I have a foreign-handed foreign policy").

"There are already 11,000 instances of 'misunderestimate' on the Web. The more people use words, whether jocularly or seriously, the more likely they are to enter the language and last for generations," said Paul J.J. Payack, chairman of yourDictionary.com, which compiled the list. (Full Text)

In other Bush news today, Bush fights Michagan University's Affirmative Action program. I find myself agreeing with Bush for once on this issue, though he takes a more extreme approach toward 'reverse-discrimination' than I do. The only thing I don't like about this:

Bush got into Yale University in part because the school gives credit to the sons of alumni, Jackson said, comparing that advantage to the University of Michigan point system denounced by Bush.

Somehow I doubt Bush's academics got him into Yale, where classmates and frat brothers recall Dubya as a true leader--when setting up keggers.

Ah well, that's all in the past. Bush's stance against A.A. strikes true with me. I just don't like his stances on Iraq, North Korea, education, corporate fraud, tax cuts, NMD, and the environment.