Strategery

American coined political word

Look up strategic, -er, or -y in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word "strategery" (/strəˈtiːdʒəri/ strə-TEE-jər-ee) was used in 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.[1] Bush, played by comedian Will Ferrell, when asked by a mock debate moderator to "sum up, in a single word, the best argument for his candidacy", replied "strategery" (a mock-Bushism playing on the word "strategy"), satirizing Bush's reputation for mispronouncing words. SNL later released the episode as part of a video tape titled Presidential Bash 2000.

## Becoming a Bush catchphrase

[edit]

After the 2000 presidential election, people inside the Bush White House reportedly began using the term as a joke, but it later became a term of art meaning the 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".[2]

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[3] after the political comic strip Doonesbury satirically portrayed him on a similar comical search.

The term is now widely used in comic and popular discourse across the political spectrum. Rush Limbaugh picked up the usage soon after the SNL airing. 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.[4] In a 2017 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Bush recalled a joke argument with SNL's Lorne Michaels about whether an SNL writer or Bush himself had actually coined the term.[5]

## Other uses

[edit]

Sarah Palin 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".[6]

The term is also a centerpiece of the fictitious firm Strategery Capital Management, LLC, a satirical website,[7] which mocks the Treasury's $700 billion "Troubled Asset Rescue Plan" (which itself is a spoof of the real-world Troubled Asset Relief Program, which Bush signed into law in 2008).

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.[8]

Shepard Smith, on his evening news program The FOX Report with Shepard Smith on July 10, 2012, described London officials' quoted "overall strategery" in placing anti-aircraft missiles on apartment buildings during the London Olympics.[9]

The official podcast of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas is called, "The Strategerist."

## See also

[edit]

* Bushism
* U.S. Presidents IQ hoax
* History of Saturday Night Live

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Dana Milbank (April 22, 2001). "Serious 'Strategery' As Rove Launches Elaborate Political Effort, Some See a Nascent Clintonian 'War Room'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
2. ^ Susskind, Ron (January 1, 2003). "Why Are These Men Laughing?". Esquire. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15.
3. ^ "Bush takes heat for WMD jokes". CNN. May 6, 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-04-02. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
4. ^ Defense Exhibit DX1030 - Scooter Libby's Schedule, June 10, 2003
5. ^ Naylor, Brian (March 3, 2017). "Former President Bush Says SNL Impressions Never Bothered Him A Bit". NPR.
6. ^ O'Reilly Factor (December 16, 2010). "Sarah Palin's TV Show Hurting Her Political Career?". Fox News. Archived from the original on 2013-03-20.
7. ^ Strategery Capital Management LLC. "Strategery Capital Management LLC". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20.
8. ^ Danny Shea (September 29, 2009). "Reporter Uses "SNL" Word "Strategery" In White House Briefing (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
9. ^ Smith, Shepard (Jul 10, 2012). "The FOX Report With Shepard Smith". Retrieved 2 February 2017.

## References

[edit]

* Itskoff, Dave 'SNL' Writer Narrows The Gap Between Politics and Farce, New York Times, March 3, 2008
* Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2000 at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Saturday Night Live

Seasons|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* 21
* 22
* 23
* 24
* 25
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31
* 32
* 33
* 34
* 35
* 36
* 37
* 38
* 39
* 40
* 41
* 42
* 43
* 44
* 45
* At Home
* 46
* 47
* 48
* 49
* 50

Episodes|

* Seasons 1−30
* Season 31−present

History|

* History

Lists|

* Commercials
* Short films
* Cast members
* Writers
* Guests
* A–D
* E–H
* I–L
* M–P
* Q–T
* U–Z
* Awards
* DVD releases
* Incidents
* Unsuccessful auditions

Characters
and sketches|

* Chronological
* By cast member
* Musical sketches
* TV show sketches
* Weekend Update characters
* TV Funhouse segments

| Introduced
in season|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* 21
* 22
* 23
* 24
* 25
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31
* 32
* 33
* 34
* 35
* 36
* 37
* 38
* 39
* 40
* 41
* 42
* 43
* 44
* 45
* 46
* 47
* 48
* 49
* 50

|

Characters
and sketches|

* The Barry Gibb Talk Show
* "Big Boys"
* "Bill Swerski's Superfans"
* Blizzard Man
* The Blues Brothers
* The Boston Teens
* Canteen Boy
* Celebrity Jeopardy!
* Chad
* "Chippendales Audition"
* The Chris Farley Show
* The Church Lady
* "Coffee Talk"
* The Coneheads
* "The Continental"
* Debbie Downer
* "Diner Lobster"
* Domingo
* Ed Grimley
* Emily Litella
* Father Guido Sarducci
* The Folksmen
* Gerald "T-Bones" Tibbons
* Hanukkah Harry
* Hans and Franz
* "Happy Fun Ball"
* The Land of Gorch
* Land Shark
* Larry the Lobster
* "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise"
* "A Limo for a Lame-O"
* MacGruber
* Mango
* Mary Katherine Gallagher
* Matt Foley
* "Men on..."
* "More Cowbell"
* Mr. Bill
* "The Nerds"
* Olympia Café
* Pat
* Please Don't Destroy
* David S. Pumpkins
* Halloween Special
* "Racist Word Association Interview"
* Roseanne Roseannadanna
* Samurai Futaba
* Sprockets
* Stefon
* Stuart Smalley
* TV Funhouse
* The Ambiguously Gay Duo
* The X-Presidents
* "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer"
* "Wayne's World"
* Weekend Update
* "What Up with That?"

| Impersonations|

* Joe Biden
* George H. W. Bush
* Bill Clinton
* Hillary Clinton
* Sarah Palin
* Donald Trump

|

Digital Shorts|

* 3-Way (The Golden Rule)
* The Creep
* Dick in a Box
* Here I Go
* Hugs
* I Just Had Sex
* I'm on a Boat
* Jack Sparrow
* Jizz in My Pants
* Lazy Sunday
* Like a Boss
* Motherlover
* Natalie's Rap 2
* YOLO

Films based
on sketches|

* Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures (1986)
* Bob Roberts (1992)
* Wayne's World (1992)
* Wayne's World 2 (1993)
* Coneheads (1993)
* It's Pat (1994)
* Stuart Saves His Family (1995)
* A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
* Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
* Superstar (1999)
* The Ladies Man (2000)
* A Mighty Wind (2003)
* Harold (2008)
* MacGruber (2010)

Specials|

* 15th Anniversary (1989)
* 25th Anniversary (1999)
* 40th Anniversary (2015)
* 50th Anniversary (2025)

Related|

* Broadway Video
* "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"
* "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
* The Lonely Island discography
* Saturday Night (2010 film)
* Saturday Night Live Band
* Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again
* Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
* SNL Studios
* Sinéad O'Connor on Saturday Night Live
* Strategery
* Studio 8H
* MacGruber (TV series)
* Saturday Night (2024 film)
* Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
* SNL50: The Homecoming Concert

International
versions|

* SNL Québec (Canada)
* Saturday Night Live bil Arabi (Egypt)
* Le Saturday Night Live (France)
* RTL Samstag Nacht (Germany)
* SNL Milano (Italy)
* Saturday Night Live Japan
* Saturday Night Live Korea
* episodes
* Saturday Night Live (Spain)
* Saturday Live (United Kingdom)
* episodes

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template