Ink on a page

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Ink on a page!
– Caentauri Lord Refa, defending his plan to use illegal mass-drivers against rival world Narn in violation of treaty, in Babylon 5

About

Leaders who have sworn an oath to defend the highest laws of their country and uphold treaties with other countries have nonetheless been known to casually dismiss those documents as "just words", inconsequential.

George W. Bush

George W. Bush allegedly said that the US Constitution is "just a goddamned piece of paper". This quote originally came from a 2005-12-09 "rant" by Doug Thompson of Capitol Hill Blue:

"I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way."

"Mr. President," one aide in the meeting said. "There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution."

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

Thompson states that two other sources present at the meeting have confirmed this account, although Thompson does not name the sources.

We are not currently aware of any specific retractions or refutations of this alleged quote. Wikiquote, originally filed this quote under "Misattributed" and stated that the quote had been retracted (without giving a source), but now (2026) describes it as "disputed".

Links

  • 2005-12-09 Bush on the Constitution: "Just a goddamned piece of paper" by Doug Thompson
  • 2005-12-14 Did President Bush Really Say That? by Chuck Baldwin, The Conservative Voice, appears to understand the severity of such a statement, but appears almost equally bothered by the use of profanity within it. (Such profanity would, of course, contradict Bush's stance as a devout Christian, betraying lack of regard for his support base in addition to lack of regard for the Constitution.)
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