The first I've seen of Clark's language skills! He just had a

[Loren645]

conversation in spanish. Pretty prolonged, back and forth with
a member of the crowd. The man was very impressed and kept
complimenting his spanish (in spanish :)).

Wow.

[Stephanie]

1. Why doesn't anyone ever challenge Bush on this? He doesn't speak Spanish.

He always claims to. Even with my rudimentary Spanish I can tell that he's faking it with a few words and phrases and a lousy accent.

Why does Bush get away with claiming to speak Spanish?

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. Hell, they don't even challenge him

on faking it in English! :shrug:

[hope42mro]

14. LOL! So true, so true... n/t

[wyldwolf]

4. Hey! Clark should suggest a debate with Bush in Spanish...

...for the hispanic people.

[windansea]

5. porque el chimpo es muuuuuy rediculoso

he speaks spanish like a gringo tonto

[bahrbearian]

8. Chervasa Porforvor !

Kinda like that?

[Ilsa]

12. A friend of mine is fluent in Spanish as a second language, and he says

that Bush talks "trashy" west Texas Spanish.

[Clark4Prez]

2. Four languages, Wes speaks four

Bush doesn't even speak one.

[maxr4clark]

15. He's only fluent in English, I think.

He has what I would call a reading knowledge of the others. I don't think Spanish is his second-best language, maybe French from his time in NATO? I believe he studied Russian, but so did I and I'm not able to do in Russian what he just did in Spanish.

[0007]

6. I was impressed also!!! Wow is right

I thought Clark did an excellent job today.

[Ivote]

9. Speaking Spanish

I just put that in another post.
A girl just said to him that she was 18 and was worried about a draft. He told her not to worry because he would change the foreign policy before that happened

[BinkieGirl]

7. He basically told the guy his name...

and in fact...he didn't say My name is....he said Your name is.

I'm not here to trash him so please don't flame me....just pointing out it's not as impressive as it might sound.

[LandOLincoln]

11. Yeah, he's a bit rusty...

but at least he remembered how to say "I don't remember the words..."


QUE VIVA EL PRESIDENTE PROXIMO DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS!

[newyawker99]

20. Hi BinkieGirl!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[girl gone mad]

10. Clark..

stumbled a bit with it, but he was fine. Foreign languages are difficult if you don't use them frequently.

Bush knows less Spanish than the average Texan, IMO.

[Jerseycoa]

13. He always says

He can speak in four languages, but only one at a time. If he has to switch from one to another, he screws up.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. I understand that perfectly

I'm a Japanese-English translator (that means written materials), and although I have no trouble conversing in Japanese, I could never be an interpreter (the proper term for someone who works between two spoken languages), because I can't "change channels" in conversation. If somebody addresses me in either language without warning while I'm speaking the other, I'm momentarily flustered.

[Lefta Dissenter]

18. OT... Lydia, I take it you've read

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett? (sp? on the author's name)

[Frederic Bastiat]

22. French and English mix well

Then again I live in Canada.

[Piperay]

16. Chimp can't even

speak English. :argh:

[creativelcro]

19. GWB speaks spanish too :) Arnold too!!!

[Logansquare]

21. He speaks French as well, if I remember correctly nt