Strategery
Encyclopedia
The word "strategery" was coined for a Saturday Night Live
sketch, written by James Downey
, airing October 7, 2000, which satirized the performances of George W. Bush
and Al Gore
, two candidates for President of the United States
, during the first presidential debate for election year 2000. Comedian Will Ferrell
played Bush and used the word "strategery" (a mock-Bushism
playing on the word "strategy
"), when asked by a mock debate moderator to summarize "the best argument for his campaign", thus satirizing Bush's reputation for mispronouncing words. The episode was later released as part of a video tape titled Presidential Bash 2000.
, people inside the Bush White House reportedly began using the term as a joke, and it later grew to become a term of art
among them meaning oversight of any activity by Bush's political consultants
. Bush's strategists also came to be known within the White House as "The Department of Strategery" or the "Strategery Group."
A February 9, 2001, transcript of a CNN
interview attributes George Bush using the term, presumably as an intentional nod to the comedy sketch. Affectionately embracing satirical
portrayals has been a Bush tactic at other times as well, such as when he presented a self-parodying slide show at the May 2004 Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner about looking for weapons of mass destruction in the Oval Office after the political comic strip
Doonesbury
satirically portrayed him on a similar comical search.
The term is now widely used in popular discourse across the political spectrum. Rush Limbaugh
picked up the usage soon after the SNL airing, using it in an ironic sense in support of President Bush. A trial exhibit from the 2007 "Scooter" Libby trial
included the term, in Libby's daily schedule for June 10, 2003, which showed that Libby had a 6:00 pm "Strategery Meeting" scheduled to last 90 minutes.
used the term in an interview with Bill O'Reilly on his television show. Speaking of Charles Krauthammer
and his political contacts, Palin commented "they're meeting people and they're doing their strategery"
A book by political reporter Bill Sammon
titled Strategery was published by the conservative publishing group Regnery in February 2006, and is the author's third book on the inner workings of the Bush presidency.
The term is also a centerpiece of the fictitious firm Strategery Capital Management, LLC, a satirical website, which mocks the Treasury's $700 billion Troubled Asset Rescue Plan.
An episode of the PBS Kids GO!
series WordGirl
titled "Mr. Big's Dolls and Dollars" uses the word in an advertisement during "The Pretty Princess and Sparkling Pony Power Hour" for a doll of the title character created by Mr. Big, one of the show's villains that does the opposite of what the real heroine does, saying "I will use strategery to defeat you", of which the real WordGirl (in her guise of Becky Botsford) claims that she'd never use the word.
The word has also been popularized in some recent games. In December 2008, two Risk-like world domination games were released using the name Strategery. Strategery is Risk
-style world domination game for iOS, which was released on the iTunes Store
and App Store.
A White House reporter, during a September 29, 2009, press briefing, began a question for press secretary Robert Gibbs
with "From the standpoint of leverage or strategery . . ." The question, about Iran, drew laughs and a quip from Gibbs.
The word continues to gain usage, with Strategery Games, a gaming site dedicated to reviews, discussion, and tutorials of all kinds of games. Its slogan attempts to define the word "Strategery" as "The Art of Kicking Butt and Taking Names."
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
sketch, written by James Downey
Jim Downey (comedian)
James Downey is an American comedy writer and occasional actor. Downey is best known as a long-time writer for Saturday Night Live.-Writing:Downey attended Harvard University, graduating in 1974 with a degree in Russian...
, airing October 7, 2000, which satirized the performances of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, two candidates for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, during the first presidential debate for election year 2000. Comedian Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
played Bush and used the word "strategery" (a mock-Bushism
Bushism
Bushisms are unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, and semantic or linguistic errors that have occurred in the public speaking of former President of the United States George W. Bush and, much less notably, of his father, George H. W. Bush. The term has become part of popular...
playing on the word "strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
"), when asked by a mock debate moderator to summarize "the best argument for his campaign", thus satirizing Bush's reputation for mispronouncing words. The episode was later released as part of a video tape titled Presidential Bash 2000.
Becoming a Bush catchphrase
After the 2000 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, people inside the Bush White House reportedly began using the term as a joke, and it later grew to become a term of art
Technical terminology
Technical terminology is the specialized vocabulary of any field, not just technical fields. The same is true of the synonyms technical terms, terms of art, shop talk and words of art, which do not necessarily refer to technology or art...
among them meaning oversight of any activity by Bush's political consultants
Political consulting
Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters, refers to a specific management consulting industry which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns. This article deals primarily with the development and nature of political consulting...
. Bush's strategists also came to be known within the White House as "The Department of Strategery" or the "Strategery Group."
A February 9, 2001, transcript of a CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
interview attributes George Bush using the term, presumably as an intentional nod to the comedy sketch. Affectionately embracing satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
portrayals has been a Bush tactic at other times as well, such as when he presented a self-parodying slide show at the May 2004 Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner about looking for weapons of mass destruction in the Oval Office after the political comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Doonesbury
Doonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
satirically portrayed him on a similar comical search.
The term is now widely used in popular discourse across the political spectrum. Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
picked up the usage soon after the SNL airing, using it in an ironic sense in support of President Bush. A trial exhibit from the 2007 "Scooter" Libby trial
United States v. Libby
United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby, also known as "Scooter Libby" is the federal trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former high-ranking official in the George W. Bush administration....
included the term, in Libby's daily schedule for June 10, 2003, which showed that Libby had a 6:00 pm "Strategery Meeting" scheduled to last 90 minutes.
Other uses
Sarah PalinSarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
used the term in an interview with Bill O'Reilly on his television show. Speaking of Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer, MD is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician. His weekly column appears in The Washington Post and is syndicated to more than 275 newspapers and media outlets. He is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and The New...
and his political contacts, Palin commented "they're meeting people and they're doing their strategery"
A book by political reporter Bill Sammon
Bill Sammon
Bill Sammon is Fox News Washington managing editor and a vice president for the network, as well as a published author and newspaper columnist. He previously worked as White House correspondent for the Washington Times and the Washington Examiner before joining Fox News in August 2008.-Personal...
titled Strategery was published by the conservative publishing group Regnery in February 2006, and is the author's third book on the inner workings of the Bush presidency.
The term is also a centerpiece of the fictitious firm Strategery Capital Management, LLC, a satirical website, which mocks the Treasury's $700 billion Troubled Asset Rescue Plan.
An episode of the PBS Kids GO!
PBS Kids GO!
PBS Kids GO! is an educational television brand used by PBS for programs intended for older children, rather than the original PBS Kids. It is primarily broadcast on PBS stations during the afternoons...
series WordGirl
WordGirl
WordGirl is an American children’s animated television series for children aged 6-12, produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids...
titled "Mr. Big's Dolls and Dollars" uses the word in an advertisement during "The Pretty Princess and Sparkling Pony Power Hour" for a doll of the title character created by Mr. Big, one of the show's villains that does the opposite of what the real heroine does, saying "I will use strategery to defeat you", of which the real WordGirl (in her guise of Becky Botsford) claims that she'd never use the word.
The word has also been popularized in some recent games. In December 2008, two Risk-like world domination games were released using the name Strategery. Strategery is Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
-style world domination game for iOS, which was released on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
and App Store.
A White House reporter, during a September 29, 2009, press briefing, began a question for press secretary Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
Robert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
with "From the standpoint of leverage or strategery . . ." The question, about Iran, drew laughs and a quip from Gibbs.
The word continues to gain usage, with Strategery Games, a gaming site dedicated to reviews, discussion, and tutorials of all kinds of games. Its slogan attempts to define the word "Strategery" as "The Art of Kicking Butt and Taking Names."