--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every quality I despise in George Bush is…" description: "\"Every quality I despise in George Bush is a quality I despise in myself. He is my worst self realized.\" — David Shields" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/david-shields-8815_he_every-quality-i-despise-in-george-bush-i_1485592.jpg" --- # Every quality I despise in George Bush is a quality I… ![“Every quality I despise in George Bush is a quality I despise in myself. He is my worst self realized.” quote by David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/david-shields-8815_he_every-quality-i-despise-in-george-bush-i_1485592.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/david-shields-8815_he_every-quality-i-despise-in-george-bush-i_1485592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/david-shields-8815_he_every-quality-i-despise-in-george-bush-i_1485592.jpg) > “Every quality I despise in George Bush is a quality I despise in myself. He is my worst self realized.” [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He sees his own flaws reflected in a political figure, using that mirror to confront personal shortcomings. **In simple terms:** Recognize self in others. Key Takeaway Use reflection to improve personal character. Themes self‑reflection politics identity Mood contemplative critical Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - personal journaling - political debate - therapy - education Key Concepts philosophical introspection critical analysis Questions to Reflect On - What does this mirror reveal? - How can you turn insight into growth? A Different Perspective Self‑critique can be harsh and demoralizing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) [Despise George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise-george-5424764/) [Despise Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise-worst-2681491/) [George bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/george-bush/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-self-443273/) ## Related quotes > [Most men unconsciously judge the world from themselves, and it will be very generally found that those who sneer habitually at human nature, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/most-men-unconsciously-judge-the-world-from-themselves-and-it-will-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It will be very generally found that those who will sneer habitually at human nature, and affect to despise it, are among its worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-will-be-very-generally-found-that-those-who-will-sneer-habitually/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“I hate that I am my worst self around the two people who are the nicest to me. I’m unable to keep my barriers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-raskin/i-hate-that-i-am-my-worst-self-around-the-two-people-who-are-the/) [Allison Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-raskin/) > [Certainly I'm still mining my experiences as a journalist. I think it's no coincidence that all three of my novels basically are about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/certainly-i-m-still-mining-my-experiences-as-a-journalist-i-think-it/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“It's often your worst self that makes you shine best”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabiso-monkoe/it-s-often-your-worst-self-that-makes-you-shine-best/) [Thabiso Monkoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabiso-monkoe/) > [You could go church and you could describe your worst behavior, your worst self, and despite your worst behavior you would be forgiven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/you-could-go-church-and-you-could-describe-your-worst-behavior-your/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Of all afflictions, the worst is self contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berthold-auerbach/of-all-afflictions-the-worst-is-self-contempt/) [Berthold Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berthold-auerbach/) > [Growing up in the spotlight was quite possibly the worst for my self-esteem. I had a hard time finding confidence within myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-winter/growing-up-in-the-spotlight-was-quite-possibly-the-worst-for-my-self/) [Ariel Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-winter/) > [I know you don't want this, Katsa. But I can't help myself. The moment you came barreling into my life I was lost. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/i-know-you-don-t-want-this-katsa-but-i-can-t-help-myself-the-moment/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [You know, when George Bush talks about freedom not being America's gift to world but God's gift to all humankind, it smells like market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-klein/you-know-when-george-bush-talks-about-freedom-not-being-america-s/) [Joe Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-klein/) > [It's hard to believe President George Bush gave a speech in New Orleans about disaster recovery and failed to mention the word 'farm' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/it-s-hard-to-believe-president-george-bush-gave-a-speech-in-new/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-m-not-tempted-to-write-a-song-about-george-w-bush-i-couldn-t-figure/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [George W. Bush did an incredible job in the presidency, defending us from freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/george-w-bush-did-an-incredible-job-in-the-presidency-defending-us/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [The president of the United States of North America, George W. Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [This country was the moral leader of the world until George Bush became president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/this-country-was-the-moral-leader-of-the-world-until-george-bush/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) ## More by David Shields > [To be honest, there are parts of 'How Literature Saved My Life' that began as interviews. Someone was telling me that they think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/to-be-honest-there-are-parts-of-how-literature-saved-my-life-that/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I'm very drawn to the way in which a life lived can be an art of sorts or a failed art, and a life-lived-told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-m-very-drawn-to-the-way-in-which-a-life-lived-can-be-an-art-of/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [People like Ian McEwan and Jonathan Franzen completely bore me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/people-like-ian-mcewan-and-jonathan-franzen-completely-bore-me/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [You're one of 6.5 billion people now on the planet, and 99.9 percent of your genes are the same as everyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/you-re-one-of-6-5-billion-people-now-on-the-planet-and-99-9-percent/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [We're completely confused about the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. To me, the moment you compose, you're fictionalising; the moment you remember, you're dreaming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/we-re-completely-confused-about-the-boundaries-between-fiction-and/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Your art is most alive and dangerous when you use it against yourself. That's why I pick at my scabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/your-art-is-most-alive-and-dangerous-when-you-use-it-against-yourself/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Everything I write, I believe instinctively, is to some extent collage. Meaning, ultimately, is a matter of adjacent data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/everything-i-write-i-believe-instinctively-is-to-some-extent-collage/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Swimming is by far the best tonic I've found for my back. I'm not a good swimmer - I do the breaststroke or elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/swimming-is-by-far-the-best-tonic-i-ve-found-for-my-back-i-m-not-a/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I've always liked this idea that writing should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable to create trouble. The value of a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-ve-always-liked-this-idea-that-writing-should-comfort-the-afflicted/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The beauty of reality-based art - art underwritten by reality hunger - is that it's perfectly situated between life itself and (unattainable) "life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-beauty-of-reality-based-art-art-underwritten-by-reality-hunger-is/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“A great book allows me to leap over that wall: in a deep, significant conversation with another consciousness, I feel human and unalone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/a-great-book-allows-me-to-leap-over-that-wall-in-a-deep-significant/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The novel is dead. Long live the antinovel, built from scraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-novel-is-dead-long-live-the-antinovel-built-from-scraps/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I am exhausted by traditional memoir. I am exhausted by the architecture of the conventional novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-am-exhausted-by-traditional-memoir-i-am-exhausted-by-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I couldn't tell a story if my life depended on it. I'm the world's worst joke-teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-couldn-t-tell-a-story-if-my-life-depended-on-it-i-m-the-world-s/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-absence-of-plot-leaves-the-reader-room-to-think-about-other-things/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) [Explore all 77 David Shields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## More Despise quotes > [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“You don’t know what it’s like to worry you’ll start to despise the people who help you, the ones you should love, because they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-guzeman/you-don-t-know-what-it-s-like-to-worry-you-ll-start-to-despise-the/) [Tracy Guzeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-guzeman/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Everyone has conscience enough to hate; few have religion enough to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/everyone-has-conscience-enough-to-hate-few-have-religion-enough-to/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I agree that biphobia is real, but I think it's absolutely worth considering that someone who "despises" having sex with her husband - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/i-agree-that-biphobia-is-real-but-i-think-it-s-absolutely-worth/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I despise a person of little mind - one might as well not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/i-despise-a-person-of-little-mind-one-might-as-well-not-have-any/) [Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/) > [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/with-the-single-exception-of-homer-there-is-no-eminent-writer-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I despise the pleasure of pleasing people that I despise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/i-despise-the-pleasure-of-pleasing-people-that-i-despise/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [It was beautiful and rare, and you have every right to despise me." She stood pressed to the wall, not moving. "When you came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-was-beautiful-and-rare-and-you-have-every-right-to-despise-me-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“I'm really starting to despise good -nights and good -byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mi-juan-yu-tu/i-m-really-starting-to-despise-good-nights-and-good-byes/) [Mi Juan Yu tu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mi-juan-yu-tu/) > [But miserable most, to love unloved? This you should pity rather than despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-miserable-most-to-love-unloved-this-you-should-pity-rather-than/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 918 Despise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every quality I despise in George Bush is a quality I despise in myself. 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