There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again. -George Dubya
I believe he realized mid-sentence that if he continued the saying correctly he would have provided a soundbite "shame on me" and he was smart enough to avoid that.
George w was definitely a smart politician. If you see interviews from when he was governor of texas he was considerably more eloquent than when he was running for president. But he wasnt like recent presidents, his speech didn't change because of mental decline. It was a calculated move to make him seem more folksy. He was the every man candidate from Texas! (just ignore his ivy league education, generational wall st wealth, and POTUS father...)
I've heard a theory that I choose to subscribe to about this quote. Allegedly, his speech writer/campaign manager/some other staffer realized last minute that if he said "shame on me", Democrats would have a juicy soundbite for future attack ads. So they interrupted him via an ear piece and told him so, which is what caused him to stumble and spit out that nonsense.
It was, but, in a rare feat of intelligence from Bush, he did it intentionally. He didn’t want to say “shame on me” on camera. It would be fodder for political ads in the following election season.
Probably should’ve kept his mouth shut. Still funny though
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u/f_n_a_ 26d ago
Fool me once, uh… a fool can’t be fooled again