The Best of Notable Quotables; December 15, 1997

Vol. Ten; No. 25

Bryant Gumbel Journalism Fellowship Award (for Liberal Advocacy)



"[Food] stamps, a blessing, allowed them [able-bodied adults
without children] to purchase about $25 worth of food a week.
They would not be able to eat like a President or member of
Congress, but they could have some soup, maybe a little pasta,
some tuna, some beans. They wouldn't starve, and they would have
enough energy to continue looking for a job...After 90 days, the
following notice is to be disseminated: Put down that soup spoon,
poor person, the Clinton administration and the Republican-led
Congress are clearing the table."  

--New York Times columnist (and former NBC reporter) Bob Herbert, February 21. [99 points]


Runners-up:


"Governor Shaheen, you've said that you want kindergarten
available for every child in your state. And you're proposing to
finance it with higher cigarette taxes and more gambling in the
state. I guess you have to do that because you've locked yourself
away from calling for any sales tax or income tax in New
Hampshire. Are the kids not worth having a sales tax or an income
tax?"  

--Washington Post reporter David Broder to New Hampshire
Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen, February 2 Meet the Press.
[76]

"Republicans got their tax cuts for families and investors and
some savings in domestic programs. But they dropped the plans
they had in 1995 and 1996 for crippling Medicare and Medicaid,
abolishing government departments and agencies, expanding the
military, and relaxing environmental protections."  

--New York Times reporter David E. Rosenbaum, May 3 "news analysis" on the budget deal. [68]