Notable Quotables - 04/16/1990
Nostalgia for the Wall
"Few tears will be
shed over the demise of the East German army, but what about East Germany's
eighty symphony orchestras, bound to lose some subsidies, or the whole East
German system, which covered everyone in a security blanket from day care to
health care, from housing to education? Some people are beginning to express,
if ever so slightly, nostalgia for that Berlin Wall."
- CBS reporter Bob Simon on the March 16 Evening News.
Gysi Yes, Gysi No
"There are no East
German Walesas, Gorbachevs, or Havels. There is, however, Gregor Gysi, leader
of the Party for Democratic Socialism, the renamed version of the Communist
Party. Wherever he went...his good humor and slightly meek style drew
thousands of enthusiastic supporters."
- Correspondent Mike Boettcher on NBC Nightly News, March 16.
"One man who is not
doing well is Gregor Gysi, the head of the Communist Party, who appeared today
before supporters. The party has changed its name, but it's been running far
behind in voter surveys."
- Garrick Utley, same program, next day.
Fidelity to Castro
"While Castro is an
odd man out in a hemisphere increasingly headed by young free-market
democrats, he still commands respect and awe."
- CNN reporter Frank Sesno on the March 20 PrimeNews.
"The remarks seem
designed to psychologically prepare Cuba's 10 million people, who generally
are much better off economically than most Latin Americans, for a significant
deterioration of living standards as a result of Cuba's strained trade
relations with East Bloc countries."
- Washington Post foreign correspondent Lee Hockstadter, April 7.
Castro: Teen Idol Or Old Fool?
"But they are the
healthiest and most educated young people in Cuba's history. For that many of
them say they have Castro and his socialist revolution to thank....if they
long for the sweeping changes occurring in Eastern Europe, they are not saying
so publicly....To the extent he can, Castro has been rewarding young people.
For example, on their return home [from Angola], the 300,000 Cubans sent to
Africa were first in line for housing, jobs, and education. Such benevolence
breeds dedication, some young people say."
- NBC reporter Ed Rabel, April 1 Nightly News.
"'We stand alone in
defending socialism,' he [Castro] told a street party of young people early
this morning. Their response appeared half-hearted: they preferred the music.
After 31 years of revolution, Castro senses that Cubans, especially the young,
may be losing some of their revolutionary fervor."
- CBS reporter Juan Vasquez, April 4.
Carter vs. Reagan
"Carter's career
after the White House has been characterized by good work...The Reagans'
career after the White House has been characterized by big bucks...The 1980's
were noted for greed and avarice, but now we're in the 1990's, and the waiter
has arrived with the check. Things have changed, and Carter is more popular
than Reagan."
- NBC commentator John Chancellor on the March 15 NBC Nightly News,
immediately followed by a Quality Inns commercial starring Tip O'Neill.
The Media, A Monument to Idealism
"The reporters (at Capital
News) work for a shining institution, basically the last uncorrupted
institution you can find. Hospitals are corrupt. Judges are corrupt. Everybody
in the world is corrupt. But our newspapers are essentially a monument to
idealism....We posited that everybody who works at the high reaches of the
paper's national desk...they're uppity power brokers. On the other hand, folks
who work on the Metro staff are really the salt of the earth, people with REAL
values."
- Former Washington Post editor Christian Williams, Executive
Producer of ABC's new series Capital News, April 9 Newark Star
Ledger.
It's A Ron Dellums World, After All
"It took twenty
years for the world to come Ronald Dellums' way. Widely viewed as what he
calls a 'radical Commie pinko' when he came to Congress in 1971, the Democrat
from Berkeley, Calif., has emerged in 1990 as a principal player on defense
policy."
- USA Today reporter Richard Wolf, March 15.
Hungary for Goulash Communism
"If there's one
thing that almost everyone agrees on here is that the communists must go and
as soon as possible. And this is a strange thing because this is one country
that seems to have profited more than any other East European government under
years of communism, but it wasn't communism like other peoples. They used to
call it goulash communism here."
- CBS' Tom Fenton on Sunday Morning, March 25.
They Like It With Bugs
"Do you guys like
organic food? We're going to be talking about it coming up. Interestingly
enough, about one in four Americans is turning to organic food because they're
scared of Alar and the use of pesticides in their food."
- CBS This Morning co-host Paula Zahn, March 19.
Coming Clean
"The antiabortion
forces, for example, believe that the Post, institutionally, is 'pro-choice.'
Of course it is. Any reader of the paper's editorials and home-grown
columnists is aware of that. Moreover, while the shadings are more subtle,
close textual analysis probably would reveal that, our news coverage has
favored the 'pro-choice' side."
- Washington Post Ombudsman Richard Harwood, March 18.
"I always get a lot
of criticism, even among my colleagues, when I reveal that I'm actually a
registered member of the Democratic Party. Many journalists tell me 'Oh, you
should be an independent.' I say that it's a personal thing. I want to vote in
primaries. I want to be involved in the political process. I want to cast my
ballot and that's why I'm registered to the Democratic Party."
- Time Washington reporter Nancy Traver on C-SPAN, March 23.
Dan Rather Said This?
"Somebody said,
"Well, Lithuania trying to break away from the Soviet Union is like Rhode
Island or California trying to break away from the United States.' Baloney.
Rhode Island and California sought to come into the United States...Such was
not, is not the case with Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia...Why is the United
States of America - the land of the free, home of the brave - not throwing
itself fully, completely into support for freedom, democracy, and independence
for the freedom-loving peoples of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia? What is
going on here?"
- Dan Rather's CBS Radio commentary, March 27.
Quote of the Month
"Congress changed
the Soviet Constitution to permit limited private ownership of small
factories, although laws remain against exploitation of everyone else."
- NBC Moscow reporter Bob Abernethy on Nightly News, March 13.
- L. Brent Bozell III;
Publisher
- Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham; Editors
- Jim Heiser, Gerard Scimeca, Stewart Verdery, Dorothy Warner; Media Analysts
- Kristin Kelly; Administrative Assistant
