In the Bushes

This is something that has confused me for quite some time. In a speech given on 27 January 1992, George H. W. Bush gives a speech in which he says "we need a nation closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons".

The producers of The Simpsons rush out a response appended to a repeat of "Stark Raving Dad" a few days later, where the family watch the clip on their TV, to which Bart responds "hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the depression, too".

However, an alternative version of the clip exists, which uses footage of Bush at the 1992 Republican National Convention later that year, where he repeated the line (as "...to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons".) This is most notably seen in documentaries such as the "Bush vs. Simpsons" featurette on the Season 3 DVD, but I was not sure of its origin.

In the 2025 book Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of the Simpsons Changed Television -- And America -- Forever by Alan Siegel, as part of an excellent chapter which includes an interview with the Bush speechwriter who originally came up with the line, Siegel states, in short, that when Bush repeated the line at the RNC, The Simpsons also repeated their comeback:

In a scene opening a rerun on January 30, 1992, the Simpsons gather around the TV and watch a clip of Bush insulting them. Homer says, "Huh?" Then ten-year-old Bart fires off a satisfyingly, age-defyingly sharp barb: "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."

And when Bush brought up The Simpsons again at the Republican National Convention, the series had Bart repeat his burn. As much as the writers hated making the same joke twice, this one was just too funny not to.

Which must surely be where the alternate clip originated from.

Bush's speech accepting the GOP nomination as president closed the RNC on 20 August 1992. However, the 'Waltons' line was not included there; as per Siegel, the second clip comes from a speech he gave at a rally to mark his arrival at the convention on August 16.

On 20 August, FOX aired a repeat of "The War of the Simpsons". I would suggest going to Matt Garvey's DVD Companion at The Simpsons Archive and reading the section on that repeat (search the page for "7F20" to find it quickly). Hmmmm. If the altered version of the Bush retort was included on that repeat, that could well explain the other discrepancies concerning it. And doing it on the night of Bush's acceptance speech, with fresh footage of the line, seems a pretty bold move.

But the next FOX broadcast of The Simpsons wasn't a repeat. On 27 August 1992, a 'summer original', "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" premiered. Looking at alt.tv.simpsons, I can see some evidence that that broadcast did indeed include the alternate clip, but I don't think it's conclusive. At the same time, surely a new episode would also have been a great opportunity to rebroadcast the comeback, especially since the original was only seen on a repeat.

I have to conclude that the revised version of the retort aired as part of either the repeat of "War" or the premiere of "Two Dimes", and am leaning towards the former, but can't say for sure either way unless someone with a copy of either broadcast comes forward.

I tracked down one copy of a hastily-made retort to the Bush administration. Surely I can track down another?

(UPDATE 18/08/26: Regards to commentator Bax, who has confirmed with a copy of the original broadcast of "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" that the Bush segment is not included there... I'll continue to keep a look out for the 1992 repeat of "War".)