Posted on 05/04/2006 10:31:04 AM PDT by gwb43_2004
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday disputed an account of President George W. Bush singing the U.S. national anthem in Spanish during the 2000 presidential campaign, saying his Spanish is not that good.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
It's true. He knows how to say "yes" to Fox, but not "no".
Just singing the National Anthem, that Americans don't want to sing.
Just singing the National Anthem, that Americans don't want to sing.
Big F@ckin' Deal (pardon my French; it's not that good)
During both campaigns, were supporters touting his fluency in Spanish? I know that when there was a Kerry write up about how he converses in French, I always told people that Bush could speak Spanish so what's the big deal.
Bush's command of English is shaky as well.
Typical of the LW media to make a big fuss over this.
Watch it lead off the network newscasts.
Aye caramba! McClellan shoulda just shut up on this one. There are plenty of news accounts over the years about George W. Bush being fluent in Spanish (though not as good as his brother Jeb). McClellan has now managed to extend this one-day story for another day or two, not to the president's benefit.
It's the thought that counts...
Just how do you pronounce such words as "nucular" and "strategery" in Spanish, anyway?
SI !
Seriously, perception and expectation is everything.
I do not speak Spanish well. Uneducated Spanish speakers accept my poor Spanish with no criticism or apprehension.
But the more college educated and intellectual the native Spanish speaking person is, the more critical and upset they become with my poor Spanish.
Also, a lot is in the 'buzz words'. The uneducated have different Spanish jargon than do the intellectuals.
The same communication problem exists within the same language. A pro-life Catholic can speak before a pro-life fundamentalist group. A pro-life fundamentalist can speak before a pro-life Catholic group. Each side might have exactly the same pro-life position... and exactly the same belief in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.
But if the speaker uses the wrong 'buzz words' he will not be accepted in the same way that he would be if he used the buzz words that made the audience feel comfortable.
I was talking with a staunch Catholic activist about coalition building using well known figures as examples of the type of local people we might bring into the coalition. He could accept fundamentalist Jerry Falwell and orthodox Jew Michael Medved types in the coalition but not fundamentalist Pat Robertson nor orthodox Jew Laura Schlesinger types.
It all came down to the symbolism of certain vocabulary and style that had nothing to do with substance.
Truth is that his English isn't that good, either. And I doubt that he can sing, anyway.
Slow news day at Reuter's?
Now JEB has a great mastery of the spanish language. While he is not as fluent as a native speaker, he is about as good as a non-native speaker can get.
Funny, I thought he habla'd very well.
Same is true for any language!
TOUCHE' BUMP!
During his first presidential election, Bush made a very big deal about being able to throw around a few phrases en espanol. That should have been our first warning sign..
How does his Spanish compare with Uncle Teddy's grasp of the language? (I said grasp of language - not bottle).
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