The George W. Bush 'What Me Worry?' Quiz

  1. After repeated failures in the oil business, George W. Bush:
    1. redoubled his efforts and eventually succeeded by pleasing consumers with his business production.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and maneuvered the taxpayers into funding his investment in the Texas Rangers while he and his partners collected the profits.

  2. When informed that a second commercial jet had struck the World Trade Center Towers and that America is “under attack,” George W. Bush:
    1. excused himself and headed to Air Force One to take command of the nation’s defenses.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and continued reading the goat book with the first graders.

  3. After the 9/11 attacks during which commercial jets were used as weapons, George W. Bush:
    1. called his chief security advisors on the carpet, firing the head of the CIA and the NSA.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by having Condi Rice falsely tell the world that no one ever imagined that commercial jets could be used as weapons.

  4. To win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, George W. Bush:
    1. emphatically disputed the previous administration’s acceptance of the death of 500,000 Iraqi children as being caused by U.S. led sanctions during the 1990s.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and let the statement stand.

  5. After 600 American soldiers had been killed in the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, George W. Bush:
    1. held a memorial ceremony to honor their lives.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by filming a mock hunt of WMD in the oval office to entertain the attendees at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television News Correspondents Association.

  6. When it became clear that U.S. troops in Iraq did not have the armored vehicles necessary for their protection, George W. Bush:
    1. accepted blame for the poor planning and immediately arranged for increased shipment of armor for the troops.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” excusing the oversight.
  7. When the troops in Iraq found they were not provided with body armor, George W. Bush:
    1. immediately called on Congress to shift funding from pork barrel spending to secure the needed body armor.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” leaving the troops to buy their own body armor.

  8. When the insurgents in Iraq continued guerilla attacks on U.S. troops after the May 1, 2003 Mission Accomplished celebration, George W. Bush:
    1. decided to bring the troops back home to the U.S.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by uttering the challenge, “bring it on.”

  9. Once it became clear that not only was the invasion of Iraq not a cakewalk, the troops weren’t greeted with flowers, finding weapons of mass destruction wasn’t a slam dunk, and the insurgency strong and persistent, George W. Bush:
    1. admitted to his mistakes and replaced the principals in charge.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and awarded medals to Paul Bremer, Tommy Franks, and George Tenet.

  10. After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Monday, August 29th, George W. Bush’s response on Tuesday, August 30th was to:
    1. immediately launch into a disaster relief readiness mode by meeting with the relevant officials in his administration.
    2. do a “What Me Worry?” by going to Utah to talk to a veteran’s group to try to counter the negative publicity from Cindy Sheehan.

  11. When asked about the lack of timely response to the Hurricane Katrina, George W. Bush:
    1. fired the head of Homeland Security for his failures.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by falsely claiming that no one knew the levees could fail.

  12. After firing aid Lawrence Lindsey in 2002 for forecasting that the Iraq war would eventually cost the U.S. as much as $200 billion, George W. Bush:
    1. made a public apology to Lindsey in his 2006 State of the Union speech because the costs had risen to over $320 billion.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and forged ahead asking the Congress for another $50 billion without acknowledging any of his errors.

  13. When the number of terrorist attacks in 2003 more than tripled from 2002, George W. Bush:
    1. acknowledged the problem and admitted it was time to rethink his War on Terror.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and directed the State Department to drop the figures from its annual Congressionally-mandated report.

  14. With the fact that unintended consequences plaque even the best planned nation-building and war-making, George W. Bush:
    1. moved cautiously in invading a country with an alien culture.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and turned former U.S. ally and enemy of Iran, Iraq, into a burgeoning clone of Shiite-led Iran.

  15. Given that Middle Easterners take an exceptionally long view of history, George W. Bush:
    1. studiously avoided linking the U.S. invasion of Iraq to the Crusades.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and referred to the War on Terror as a “crusade.”

  16. After campaigning as a fiscal conservative, George W. Bush:
    1. submitted budgets to Congress limiting spending and vetoed any excess spending implemented by Congress.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by becoming not only the biggest spending president since LBJ, but also the first president since 1881 to never exercise his veto power.

  17. To limit the spread of nuclear weapons into terrorists’ hands, George W. Bush:
    1. took a leadership role in the world to secure old Soviet nuclear weapons.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and ignored the hundreds of Soviet weapons though securing them would have cost less than two week’s expense in the Iraq war.

  18. After pledging that Osama Bin Laden would be hunted down and brought in “dead or alive,” George W. Bush:
    1. has maintained a more-than-4-years focus on doing just that.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and later stated, “I truly am not that concerned about him.”

  19. After the American people were repeatedly told that Iraqi oil revenues would shoulder the costs of rebuilding Iraq, George W. Bush:
    1. went to the American people and apologized for the faulty estimates.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and pressed on with billions more in spending for the rebuilding efforts.

  20. Given the extraordinary efforts she engaged in to meet with him, George W. Bush:
    1. expressed regret that he could not meet with Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan due to scheduling problems.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and stated that while on vacation it was more important to “go on with my life” than to meet with the dead soldier’s mother.

The answer in each case is the “What Me Worry?” response.

  1. After repeated failures in the oil business, George W. Bush:
    1. redoubled his efforts and eventually succeeded by pleasing consumers with his business production.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and maneuvered the taxpayers into funding his investment in the Texas Rangers while he and his partners collected the profits.

  2. When informed that a second commercial jet had struck the World Trade Center Towers and that “America is under attack,” George W. Bush:
    1. excused himself and headed to Air Force One to take command of the nation’s defenses.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and continued reading the goat book with the first graders.

  3. After the 9/11 attacks during which commercial jets were used as weapons, George W. Bush:
    1. called his chief security advisors on the carpet, firing the head of the CIA and the NSA.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by having Condi Rice falsely tell the world that no one ever imagined that commercial jets could be used as weapons.

  4. To win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, George W. Bush:
    1. emphatically disputed the previous administration’s acceptance of the death of 500,000 Iraqi children as being caused by U.S. led sanctions during the 1990s.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and let the statement stand.

  5. After 600 American soldiers had been killed in the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, George W. Bush:
    1. held a memorial ceremony to honor their lives.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by filming a mock hunt of WMD in the oval office to entertain the attendees at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television News Correspondents Association.

  6. When it became clear that U.S. troops in Iraq did not have the armored vehicles necessary for their protection, George W. Bush:
    1. accepted blame for the poor planning and immediately arranged for increased shipment of armor for the troops.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” excusing the oversight.

  7. When the troops in Iraq found they were not provided with body armor George W. Bush:
    1. immediately called on Congress to shift funding from pork barrel spending to secure the needed body armor.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” leaving the troops to buy their own body armor.

  8. When the insurgents in Iraq continued guerilla attacks on U.S. troops after the May 1, 2003 Mission Accomplished celebration, George W. Bush:
    1. decided to bring the troops back home to the U.S.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by uttering the challenge, “bring it on.”

  9. Once it became clear that not only was the invasion of Iraq not a cakewalk, the troops weren’t greeted with flowers, finding weapons of mass destruction wasn’t a slam dunk, and the insurgency strong and persistent, George W. Bush:
    1. admitted to his mistakes and replaced the principals in charge.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and awarded medals to Paul Bremer, Tommy Franks, and George Tenet.

  10. After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Monday, August 29th, George W. Bush’s response on Tuesday, August 30th was to:
    1. immediately launch into a disaster relief readiness mode by meeting with the relevant officials in his administration.
    2. do a “What Me Worry?” by going to Utah to talk to a veteran’s group to try to counter the negative publicity from Cindy Sheehan.

  11. When asked about the lack of timely response to the Hurricane Katrina George W. Bush:
    1. fired the head of Homeland Security for his failures.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by falsely claiming that no one knew the levees could fail.

  12. After firing aid Lawrence Lindsey in 2002 for forecasting that the Iraq war would eventually cost the U.S. as much as $200 billion, George W. Bush:
    1. made a public apology to Lindsey in his 2006 State of the Union speech because the costs had risen to over $320 billion.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and forged ahead asking the Congress for another $50 billion without acknowledging any of his errors.

  13. When the number of terrorist attacks in 2003 more than tripled from 2002, George W. Bush:
    1. acknowledged the problem and admitted it was time to rethink his War on Terror.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and directed the State Department to drop the figures from its annual Congressionally-mandated report.

  14. With the fact that unintended consequences plaque even the best planned nation-building and war-making, George W. Bush:
    1. moved cautiously in invading a country with an alien culture.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and turned former U.S. ally and enemy of Iran, Iraq, into a burgeoning clone of Shiite-led Iran.

  15. Given that Middle Easterners take an exceptionally long view of history, George W. Bush:
    1. studiously avoided linking the U.S. invasion of Iraq to the Crusades.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and referred to the War on Terror as a “crusade.”

  16. After campaigning as a fiscal conservative, George W. Bush:
    1. submitted budgets to Congress limiting spending and vetoed any excess spending implemented by Congress.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” by becoming not only the biggest spending president since LBJ, but also the first president since 1881 to never exercise his veto power.

  17. To limit the spread of nuclear weapons into terrorists’ hands, George W. Bush:
    1. took a leadership role in the world to secure old Soviet nuclear weapons.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and ignored the hundreds of Soviet weapons though securing them would have cost less than two week’s expense in the Iraq war.

  18. After pledging that Osama Bin Laden would be hunted down and brought in “dead or alive,” George W. Bush:
    1. has maintained a more-than-4-years focus on doing just that.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and later stated, “I truly am not that concerned about him.”

  19. After the American people were repeatedly told that Iraqi oil revenues would shoulder the costs of rebuilding Iraq, George W. Bush:
    1. went to the American people and apologized for the faulty estimates.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and pressed on with billions more in spending for the rebuilding efforts.

  20. Given the extraordinary efforts she engaged in to meet with him, George W. Bush:
    1. expressed regret that he could not meet with Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan due to scheduling problems.
    2. did a “What Me Worry?” and stated that while on vacation it was more important to “go on with my life” than to meet with the dead soldier’s mother.

With thanks to Alfred E. Neuman who even looks like the separated-at-birth twin to George W. Bush.

Jim Cox is an Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at the Lawrenceville Campus of Georgia Perimeter College and the author of The Concise Guide to Economics and Minimum Wage, Maximum Damage.