The Best of Notable Quotables; December 21, 1992
Table of Contents:
- The Best of Notable Quotables; December 21, 1992
- Rodney King Award
- Damn Conservatives
- Festival of Hate
- Clinton Camelot
- I am Woman
- Henry Luce Award
- Willie Horton Award
- Silliest Analysis
- Ross Perot Award
- Real Reagan Legacy
- James Carville Award
- Iron Curtain Award
- Happy Talk Award
- Media Hero Award
- Which Way Is It?
- Quote of the Year
- 1992 Award Judges
Rodney King 100 Meter Dash While Carrying a VCR Award* (for rationalizing the LA riots)
“It’s
not a big surprise that the jury in suburban Simi Valley sided with the
white policemen. Just as it’s no surprise that the blacks in downtown
Los Angeles rioted and people died.... Politicians have fanned these
flames with code words about ‘welfare queens,’ ‘equal opportunity,’ and
‘quotas.’ Language designed to turn whites against blacks. With
two-party politics that favored the rich and hurt everyone else.”
– NBC commentator John Chancellor, April 30 Nightly News.
Runners-up:
“We
hold accountable Republicans who have savaged our urban schools, our
housing, our health care, our social services. We hold accountable
Democrats who have collaborated in this butchery....We hold accountable
those who waste our billions on a military with no enemy to fight.”
–
Osborn Elliott, Newsweek Editor-in-Chief from 1961-76, in his speech as
co-chairman of the “Save Our Cities” rally, May 16.
A Looting Binge Born of Necessity, Opportunity
– Washington Post front page, May 10
“We
should avoid focusing exclusively on the rage and inappropriate
behavior of oppressed and frustrated people who started these riots.”
–
Hugh Downs on ABC’s 20/20, May 1.
“Increasingly, people are
saying that all of the violence had very little to do with Rodney King.
Instead, it was the desperate call of a community fighting for change.”
–
ABC reporter Tom Foreman, May 3 World News Sunday.
* inspired by P.J. O'Rourke