Poem composed of statements made by George W. Bush in January 2003
You know, I understand politics,
and I’m not paying
attention to politics.
You see, when people have more of their own money,
they tend to
spend it.
I mean, it was good enough in January of ‘01.
You know, Saddam Hussein—hopefully, he realizes we’re
serious.
See, the strategic view of America changed after
September the
11th.
I mean, Japan, Russia, China, South Korea.
You know, the world looks at us and says, they’re strong.
See, we believe in freedom,
Heidi. I mean, Holly.
This business about, you know, more time — you know,
how
much time do we need?
See, we’ve got some big problems in this country.
I mean, we couldn’t —
You know, I understand the politics of economic stimulus.
You see, I like to remind people, government
can hand out money,
but it can’t put love
into people’s hearts.
I mean, that’s a problem.
You know, what do we know after September the 11th?
See, it is a capital-intensive business.
I mean, this is a plan to encourage growth, focusing on jobs.
You know, they just don’t value life like we do.
See, in this country, we say every life matters.
I mean, we’re great at what we do.
You know, I’m hopeful we won’t have to go to war.
See, in this country, we say everybody is precious,
everybody
counts, everybody has got values.
I mean, the idea is that we want to help people. That’s
what
we ought to do in America.
About the Author
H.L. Hix's most recent poetry book, Chromatic, was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. This poem will be published in his next book, a sequence of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden poems called God Bless.
