Bush On DVD



March 3, 2001



BOB GARFIELD: Listening to all those directors' commentaries has made us wish we had behind-the-scenes insights on big media events such as when President Bush addressed the Congress this past week.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:: I know Congress had to formally invite me. And it could have been a close vote. [LAUGHTER] So, Mr. Vice President, I appreciate you being here to break the tie. [LAUGHTER]

"COMMENTATOR": We had so many more laugh lines at the top.

"COMMENTATOR": Right! What was it? -- he thanked the Supreme Court?

"COMMENTATOR": Right -- the line was -- and if the other side wins, we'll take it to the Supreme Court. And he thanks Bill Clinton for keeping the heat off of him--

"COMMENTATOR": And the, and the Surgeon General or something?

"COMMENTATOR": No, no it was the Surgeon General because I'm going to be doing so much butt-kissing to get this thing passed I'm going to need a lip-transplant. [LAUGHS] It was--

"COMMENTATOR": Funny, funny stuff! But there's nowhere to go from that.

"COMMENTATOR": No, the Cheney line was the best. [APPLAUSE]

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:: Education is not [sic] my top priority. [APPLAUSE] Education is my top priority and s-- by supporting this budget--

"COMMENTATOR": Ah, yes.

"COMMENTATOR": Ah, yes the famous flub. Do, do you want to tell this one?

"COMMENTATOR": [LAUGHS] Sure. Sure. Nobody believes me, but it was in the script. I know people will stop me on the street, to this day, to ask about that line! But that's exactly what we were after! It was meant to give the viewer a sense of unease. Wait! What's he saying? Education is not my top priority?! And then he comes right back!

"COMMENTATOR": Yeah, [LAUGHS] yeah, he comes back with education is my top priority, and it's like ahhh! I thought it was!

"COMMENTATOR": Exactly! If he just says the line as a line, no big deal. But if he prefaces it with that little flub, everyone talks about it.

"COMMENTATOR": Bush equals Education -- because of the flub! [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]

"COMMENTATOR": Right. It's a little trick!

"COMMENTATOR": For an actor I think it's the toughest line in the script!

"COMMENTATOR": Exactly!

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: With us tonight is the Mayor of Philadelphia. Please help me welcome....

"COMMENTATOR": Of course the mayor of Philadelphia was too expensive, so we had to get the mayor of Vancouver.

"COMMENTATOR": Can't tell the difference.

"COMMENTATOR": No. Same thing.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I like teachers so much -- I married one. [APPLAUSE]

"COMMENTATOR": Now that didn't test well.

"COMMENTATOR":No, you're right. When we screened it in Culver City, some of the cards that came back were from teachers themselves. Some of them--

"COMMENTATOR": Right. Right, a couple of teachers you saw at screenings were scared he'd be coming right at them next!

"COMMENTATOR": I never even thought of that when I wrote it.

"COMMENTATOR": No, but I thought it was a good line, so I fought for it. One of the few fights I won!

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:: That's real money. With us tonight representing many American families are Steven and Josefina Ramos.

"COMMENTATOR": Steven and Josefina. [LAUGHS] Where'd you come up with those names?

"COMMENTATOR": Those are the names of my grandmother's cats.

"COMMENTATOR": [LAUGHS] I never knew that!

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:: Our parks are places of great natural beauty and history. [APPLAUSE]

"COMMENTATOR": At this point, almost exactly halfway through the speech, we cut away to a montage sequence of Bush at play in the parks with Walking on Sunshine underneath it.

"COMMENTATOR": Katrina and the Waves.

"COMMENTATOR": Exactly. George frolicking at Old Faithful. George teasing a family of bears. George twirling on a mountaintop. We pull back -- way back -- it's an homage to the opening shot of Sound of Music.

"COMMENTATOR": Sublime. It's in the added features at the end of the disk. [EXCERPT SONG I'M WALKING ON SUNSHINE]