Top 10 Dumb Things Said by U.S. Politicians

It probably came as a surprise to no one familiar with Ronald Reagan’s environmental policies that he’s no damn, dirty, tree-hugging hippie. On the contrary: Teflon Ron entered the office of President in 1981 cynical of environmental causes and unconvinced of their political importance, and therefore he significantly reduced funding of the Environmental Protection Agency. Even with all that info, critics were blind-sided when Reagan wrongly made the assertion that trees pollute more than cars. Though he claimed to’ve been quoted out of context, whether it was sheer ignorance or deliberate misinformation, Reagan’s ridiculous reference still resonates in Republican thought today.

Mayor of NYC from 1978-89, this liberal stalwart often deviated from the party line and his Democratic Party colleagues. This was perhaps never more clear than in 1985, when he wrote an essay entitled “Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life.” Though it definitely sparked debate, Koch’s declaration infuriated many of the era’s top progressive minds – even though he was echoing the feelings of many Americans who supported capital punishment. But you can see where they’d get confused: killing people who kill people to show people that killing people is wrong could be considered oxymoronic at best.

Picture this: it’s the second debate of the 2012 U.S. Presidential election between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Romney is asked how he’d deal with equal pay and gender inequality in America. His response, where he outlines that he keeps female and male job applications separate, adds fuel to arguments that Romney and the GOP are sexist. Within minutes, backlash on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr spawns memes depicting Mitt as an elitist male with old-fashioned ideas about women’s rights. The debate debacle not only put Romney’s and the GOP’s gender track record in the spotlight, but also brought women’s issues front-and-center in general.

Less than a month after being sworn in as President, Gerald Ford granted Richard Nixon a full pardon for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. That’s one reason why this quote regarding that scandal seemed paradoxical. But beyond that, it’s just a dumb thing to say: Ford dragged a dead president from his grave and then put him back in it. It was a hyperbolic and unintelligent statement that did nothing but add fire to America’s biggest scandal involving a living president. FYI, this quote appears in a book of bad English quotes, entitled “Anguished English.”

A gaffe machine second possibly only to George W. Bush, this former Alaska Governor faced several obstacles when she was campaigning for VP in 2008 alongside fellow maverick John McCain – not the least of which was her own mouth. Palin was asked by Glenn Beck how she’d handle a conflict in North Korea. Her response may have angered the U.S. Defense and State Departments, as well as South Koreans, given the fact that the “South” is America’s closest ally and the “North” perhaps America’s last true enemy. Palin’s statement was either another painful Palin geography slip-up [“I can see Russia from my house”] or part of a liberal conspiracy that manipulated Glenn Beck into putting this “gotcha” question to Palin to undermine the right-wing patriot movement.

In this 1999 CNN video, Wolf Blitzer interviews Vice President Al Gore. In a way, Gore was being interviewed for a job; it just so happens that job was POTUS. In many job interviews, people over exaggerate past achievements. And sometimes those answers are so dumb you wish you could take them back. Now, while we feel fairly confident that what Gore meant was that he was a key factor in terms of the advancement of economic and legislative aspects of the internet – which is true – and not that he’d outright invented the thing, this is still pretty awkward. Luckily for Gore, Americans fall into a coma whenever he addresses the nation, so most people probably missed this.

When reliving the blunders of American politicians, one name stands out: Nixon. His Watergate scandal scarred the political scene for years, and caused him to become the first – and so far only – U.S. President to resign. Nixon fell victim to the terrors of technology and the media multiple times during his career, whether it was on TV [Kennedy/Nixon debates] or through pesky tape-recordings [Watergate tapes]. But Nixon’s goofiest gaffe came after he’d stepped down: during 1977’s famous Frost/Nixon interviews, the disgraced President evidently slipped up and answered David Frost’s question on national security by declaring that the president is above the law. And he wanted us to believe he was not a crook?

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are some honorable – or in this case dishonorable – mentions:
- “The Cuban Missile Crisis. It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I’m pretty sure.”
Dana Perino
- “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
Bill Clinton
- “I love California; I practically grew up in Phoenix.”
Dan Quayle
- “We need more welfare and fewer jobs.”
Jerry Brown
- “I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Almost Everything He’s Ever Said
Herman Cain

Everything’s bigger in Texas and nothing’s bigger than the list of Bush Jr.’s gaffes. Son of President George H.W. Bush, this 43rd President pushed the English language to terrifying new frontiers with his myriad Bushisms. He’s credited with coining new terms and expressions – many of which were lampooned by the likes of Jon Stewart and “Saturday Night Live”. And all the questions about whether or not our children “is” learning, statements on how his opponents had “misunderestimated” him, and assertions that fish are our friends were just the icing on the cake. Often caught with his foot in his mouth or the odd shoe in his face, Bush is a Saudi oil well of dumb political quotes. Don’t mess with Texas.

Do you agree with our list? Which dumb political quote deserved a mention? For more blunder-ful top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.