What's wrong with you? Why
aren't you laughing? War and recesion are funny!
(Please note: There was no reporter
in Chicago, and there is no record of Bush ever making this
deficit disclaimer. See the Washington
Post 6/24)
"Trifecta"
excerpts from the official White
House web site:
"You
know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is
there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit?
I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or
were in recession. (Laughter.) Little did I realize we'd get
the trifecta. (Laughter.)"
--
2/27/02 -- Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
"You
know, I remember campaigning in Chicago and somebody said, would
you ever spend a deficit? And I said, only if we're at war or
we had a recession or there was a national emergency. Little
did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.)"
--
3/1/02 -- The Marriott Hotel, Des Moines, Iowa
"I'll
never forget one time in Chicago when a reporter said, would
you ever deficit spend? And I said, well, only -- only if we
were at war, only if there were a national emergency, or only
if there is a recession. Never did I believe we'd get the trifecta.
(Laughter.)" --
3/27/02 -- Grand Hyatt Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia
"I
was campaigning in Chicago one time and a fellow said, would
you ever allow for deficit spending, would that ever enter your
vocabulary? I said, well, under certain circumstances: only
if we're at war or there was a national emergency or there was
a recession. Little did I realize we'd draw the trifecta. (Laughter.)"
--
3/27/02 -- The Palmetto Expo Center, Greenville, South Carolina
"You
know, when I was campaigning in Chicago, in the general election,
somebody said, would you ever deficit spend? I said, well, only
if we were at war, or there was a national emergency, or we
were in a recession. Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta.
(Laughter.)" --
3/29/02 -- Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dallas, Texas
"I
remember campaigning in Chicago one time, and the guy said,
would you ever deficit spend? I said, well, only if we were
at war, or the country was in recession, or there was a national
emergency. (Laughter.) I didn't realize we were going to get
the trifecta. (Laughter.)" --
4/3/02 -- Four Seasons Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"The
recession -- no question, I remember when I was campaigning,
I said, would you ever deficit spend? And I said, yes, only
if there were a time of war, or recession, or a national emergency.
Never thought we'd get -- (laughter and applause.) And so we
have a temporary deficit in our budget, because we are at war,
we're recovering, our economy is recovering, and we've had a
national emergency. Never did I dream we'd have the trifecta.
(Laughter.)" --
4/16/02 -- Meeting of the Leaders of the Fiscal Responsibility
Coalition, Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
"You
know, when I was campaigning in Chicago one time, they said,
would you ever have a deficit? I said, I hope not. I said, I
think it's important for us to make -- to work hard to have
a balanced budget. But I said, yes, I'd have a deficit if I
were the President only if we were at war, or in a recession,
or in times of emergency. I didn't think I was going to draw
the trifecta. (Laughter.)" --
4/29/02 -- Crowne Plaza Pyramid Hotel, Albuquerque, New Mexico
"You
know, when I was running for President, in Chicago, somebody
said, would you ever have deficit spending? I said, only if
we were at war, or only if we had a recession, or only if we
had a national emergency. Never did I dream we'd get the trifecta.
(Laughter.)" --
5/10/02 -- Hyatt Regency Hotel, Columbus, Ohio
"I
remember -- I remember campaigning in Chicago, and one of the
reporters said, would you ever deficit spend? I said only --
only in times of war, in times of economic insecurity as a result
of a recession, or in times of national emergency. Never did
I dream we'd have a trifecta. (Laughter.)" --
6/7/02 -- 14th Annual World Pork Expo, Iowa State Fairgrounds,
Des Moines, Iowa
"You
know, we -- these are extraordinary times. I remember campaigning
and somebody said, would you ever deficit spend? I said, only
if there was a war, or a recession, or a national emergency.
(Laughter.) I didn't think we were going to get the trifecta.
(Laughter.)"
--
6/13/02 -- Dwight David Eisenhower Executive Office Building
"You
know, when I was one time campaigning in Chicago, a reporter
said, would you ever have a deficit? And I said, I can't imagine
it, but there would be one if we had a war, or a national emergency,
or a recession. (Laughter.) Never did I dream we'd get the trifecta.
(Laughter.)" --
6/14/02 -- Hyatt Regency Hotel, Houston,
Texas