President Bush’s Big Fish Story

John Aravosis notes this Reuters report in which President Bush tells a German newspaper, “I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound perch in my lake.”

Aravosis:

The only problem is that the world’s record for the largest freshwater perch caught is 4 pounds 3 ounces.

So Bush either doubled the world record, and didn’t report it, or he’s a liar.

The plot thickens, as the White House transcript of said interview has Bush saying, “I would say the best moment was when I caught a seven-and-a-half pound large mouth bass on my lake.”

So, either the German translation was off, Bush somehow said “perch” when he meant “bass,” or he was trying to score big points with the Germans by claiming a record fish catch. Hmm.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. jwb says:

    Who cares what kind of fish it was! The larger question is why we tolerate a President who thinks landing a fish is the best moment of his presidency.

  2. Ugh says:

    He’s pulling his B.S. “aw shucks, I’m just a regular guy” line again.

  3. McGehee says:

    When he catches a fish, he doesn’t have all the other people on shore second-guessing his choice of lure or line, and he doesn’t have a bunch of wackjobs insisting he should let the fish go instead of cooking it and eating it.

  4. McCain says:

    It is more likely that the whopper he caught in his line was Dick Cheney.

  5. Steven Plunk says:

    Carl Rove weighed it for him.

    For gosh sakes people are hard up for things to criticize him about.

  6. Steven Plunk says:

    I almost forgot, “fish died, Bush lied”.

  7. SgtFluffy says:

    I do believe this an “Inperchable” offense, someone call Miss America up on the Hill

  8. cirby says:

    From German.about.com:

    “The German term Barsch can refer to either bass, perch or pike, which are all “percoids” in the genus ‘perca.'”

    Transslation issues, it seems.

  9. Dave Schuler says:

    Fisherman tells fish story! News at 11:00!

  10. dougrc says:

    Heck, folks, it was in Texas…the worm he caught it on probably weighed a pound and a half!!

    Everyone knows everything things bigger, better, and brighter in Texas (with the exception of Ann Richards and Ronnie Earle).

  11. Rodney Dill says:

    Another Weapon of Bass Destruction debacle.

    Next thing ya know he’ll be whacking rabbits with oars.

  12. Roger says:

    More proof that Bush is an absolute moron. The best moment in his presidency?