The Best of Notable Quotables; December 23, 1991

Vol. Four; No. 26

Borking Award (for Character Assassination)



“Clarence Thomas is the best only at his ability to bootlick for Ronald Reagan and George Bush ....They didn’t pick him because he was black. They picked him because he’s a black conservative. And the thing that bothers me about his appointment – if they had put David Duke on, I wouldn’t scream as much because they would look at David Duke and reject him for what he is. If you gave Clarence Thomas a little flour on his face, you’d think you had David Duke talking.”

– Columnist Carl Rowan on Inside Washington, July 7.


Runners-up:


“It may sound bigoted; well, this is a bigoted world and why can’t black people be allowed a little Archie Bunker mentality?....Here’s a man [Thomas] who’s going to decide crucial issues for the country and he has already said no to blacks; he has already said if he can’t paint himself white he’ll think white and marry a white woman.”

USA Today “Inquiry” Editor Barbara Reynolds in The Washington Post, September 10.

“Who is this guy, Clarence Thomas, and why should we want him on the Supreme Court? I can’t think of any good reasons. The man is not distinguished and he doesn’t seem to have a heart...Let’s be straight about this. Clarence Thomas is a tool of the rich and powerful. His supporters include Dan Quayle, Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms. Even David Duke, former Ku Klux Klan leader, is crazy about Clarence Thomas. Make no mistake, old people, poor people, black people, women, forget about it. Clarence Thomas is not your friend.”

– NBC News reporter Bob Herbert in Sunday Today “Viewpoint” segment, September 8.