5 ms·

Former President George W. Bush, Live At Facebook HQ [video]

30 points by obilgic 16y ago

Mithrandir 16y ago
http://www.livestream.com/facebookguests/video?clipId=pla_0da9c42f-9499-4c60-8069-e306dd089fc3 http://www.livestream.com/facebookguests/video?clipId=pla_0d...
baddox 16y ago
Is it just me, or is the stammering I remember from his presidency entirely gone now? He was perfectly eloquent before becoming President as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvknGT8W5jA&t=0m18s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvknGT8W5jA&t=0m18s edit: he did say "colonializer" in this video
- fredoliveira 16y ago
  That surprised me too. Bush (who I'm typically not a huge fan of) was articulate, funny, and honest. I quite liked the interview.
- philwelch 16y ago
  Being President is a damn tough job. I would stammer and say idiotic things all the time if I had to deal with that stress. Presidents always seem to age twice as fast as normal people.
- rradu 16y ago
  He's a lot more relaxed--he doesn't have to watch what he says anymore, since pundits aren't analyzing his every word. Though I didn't like him as a president, Bush always seemed to me like a guy you'd want to hang out with and have a couple of beers.
  - lenley 16y ago
    I never got that analogy considering Bush said he doesn't drink alcohol.
    - rradu 16y ago
      In my head he does. Regardless, the point stands: he seems like a fun guy to hang out with and I think he showed it in this interview.
    - kgermino 16y ago
      He is a recovering alcoholic so I'd think it's reasonable to see him as someone you could have a beer with.
  - siculars 16y ago
    A pollster once said you vote for the guy you would want to have a drink at a bar with. Was it Gallup? That's always something GWB had, he was likeable on a personal level.
- jbooth 16y ago
  One thing a lot of people don't realize is that when you're holding an office, everything you say has legal import and consequences. Even Obama stutters and backtracks midsentence these days -- that's because they're filtering on about 12 different levels. It's a lot easier if you didn't spend all day doing things that you're not allowed to speak frankly about.
  - baddox 16y ago
    What of the presidents who were excellent orators?
    - mbm 16y ago
      Not really a useful counterpoint. No one would argue that Obama's a poor speaker, just that more exposed dialogue these days can make even the most eloquent of speakers seem clumsy. Fortunately TR and Honest Abe didn't have to worry about Politico & co.
      - jbooth 16y ago
        And they didn't have a live TV press briefing every morning. Or even a non-live press briefing every morning. On the other hand, they did have to worry about pamphlets asserting various things about the moral standards and marital status of their mothers.
siculars 16y ago
Say what you will about G.W.B. But the man has charisma and he's damn funny.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
djacobs 16y ago
On Wikileaks: "I think loyalty ... to the greater good, not to a person ... is of utmost important" (my paraphrase of what he said). Yep, I still don't like him. Actually, this was really the only part of the interview where I really didn't like him.
gnufs 16y ago
Linking to a URL with Feedburner args may not be the best idea.

30 points by obilgic 16y ago

http://www.livestream.com/facebookguests/video?clipId=pla_0da9c42f-9499-4c60-8069-e306dd089fc3 http://www.livestream.com/facebookguests/video?clipId=pla_0d...

baddox 16y ago

Is it just me, or is the stammering I remember from his presidency entirely gone now? He was perfectly eloquent before becoming President as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvknGT8W5jA&t=0m18s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvknGT8W5jA&t=0m18s edit: he did say "colonializer" in this video

fredoliveira 16y ago
That surprised me too. Bush (who I'm typically not a huge fan of) was articulate, funny, and honest. I quite liked the interview.
philwelch 16y ago
Being President is a damn tough job. I would stammer and say idiotic things all the time if I had to deal with that stress. Presidents always seem to age twice as fast as normal people.
rradu 16y ago
He's a lot more relaxed--he doesn't have to watch what he says anymore, since pundits aren't analyzing his every word. Though I didn't like him as a president, Bush always seemed to me like a guy you'd want to hang out with and have a couple of beers.
- lenley 16y ago
  I never got that analogy considering Bush said he doesn't drink alcohol.
  - rradu 16y ago
    In my head he does. Regardless, the point stands: he seems like a fun guy to hang out with and I think he showed it in this interview.
  - kgermino 16y ago
    He is a recovering alcoholic so I'd think it's reasonable to see him as someone you could have a beer with.
- siculars 16y ago
  A pollster once said you vote for the guy you would want to have a drink at a bar with. Was it Gallup? That's always something GWB had, he was likeable on a personal level.
jbooth 16y ago
One thing a lot of people don't realize is that when you're holding an office, everything you say has legal import and consequences. Even Obama stutters and backtracks midsentence these days -- that's because they're filtering on about 12 different levels. It's a lot easier if you didn't spend all day doing things that you're not allowed to speak frankly about.
- baddox 16y ago
  What of the presidents who were excellent orators?
  - mbm 16y ago
    Not really a useful counterpoint. No one would argue that Obama's a poor speaker, just that more exposed dialogue these days can make even the most eloquent of speakers seem clumsy. Fortunately TR and Honest Abe didn't have to worry about Politico & co.
    - jbooth 16y ago
      And they didn't have a live TV press briefing every morning. Or even a non-live press briefing every morning. On the other hand, they did have to worry about pamphlets asserting various things about the moral standards and marital status of their mothers.

siculars 16y ago

Say what you will about G.W.B. But the man has charisma and he's damn funny.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

djacobs 16y ago

On Wikileaks: "I think loyalty ... to the greater good, not to a person ... is of utmost important" (my paraphrase of what he said). Yep, I still don't like him. Actually, this was really the only part of the interview where I really didn't like him.

gnufs 16y ago

Linking to a URL with Feedburner args may not be the best idea.