Dumb News Of The Day: George W. Makes $15M For Talking To People!

"I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it... I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet... You just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." April 3, 2004

Remember how painful it was watching George W. Bush speak in public? "The internets," "nu-cu-lar," and such brilliant quotes as: "They misunderestimated me."

It appears there are organizations daft enough to actually pay the former prez to speak in public. According to spokesman David Sherzer, Bush has earned $15 million since leaving office in January 2009, delivering some 140 paid speeches. That averages to $110,00 per speech.

Mind you, Bill Clinton earned $65 million by the end of 2009, nine years after leaving office (average: $208,000), but let's face it: He's an intelligent man with something to say.

IWatch News reports that after declining to visit Ground Zero May 5 with Barack Obama following the death of Osama bin Laden, Bush gave three paid speeches that week: 1) to hedge fund executives, 2) a Swiss bank sanctioned for keeping secret bank accounts and 3) a pro golf event underwritten by an accounting firm involved in the Tyco International financial scandal.

Good to know Bush's priorities remain exactly where they've always been: up his own ass.