All politicians are prone to make slips of the tongue in the heat of the moment – and President George W Bush has made more than most.

The word “Bushism” has been coined to label his occasional verbal lapses during eight years in office, which come to an end on 20 January. (Source: BBC)

And out of the list of memorable quotes compiled by BBC, here are some worthy mentions:

1. “They misunderestimated me.” 
   Bentonville, Arkansas, 6 November, 2000
2. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on… shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.”
   Nashville, Tennessee, 17 September, 2002
3. “I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me.”
   Nashville, Tennessee, 27 May, 2004
4. “The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the – the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice.”
   Washington DC, 27 October, 2003
5. “You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.”
   CBS News, Washington DC, 6 September, 2006
6. “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”
   Townsend, Tennessee, 21 February, 2001
7. “It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.”
   Reuters, 5 May, 2000
8. “Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN’s aren’t able to practice their love with women all across the country.”
   Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 6 September, 2004
9. “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.”
   Saginaw, Michigan, 29 September, 2000
10. “That’s George Washington, the first president, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three – three or four books about him last year. Isn’t that interesting?”
    Speaking to reporter Kai Diekmann, Washington DC, 5 May, 2006
11. “And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is, I read it, and [Tony Blair] read it.”
    On the publication of the Baker-Hamilton Report, Washington DC, 7 December, 2006
12. “I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”
    Washington DC, 12 May, 2008

I think I’m going to miss his jokes when he leaves. Obama doesn’t make too many funny mistakes.