Notable Quotables - 05/15/1989

 

North Trial


"Just the first of several criminal trials with their roots in concerns that a secret clique of ideological zealots may have run policy and operations outside the American constitutional system of checks and balances."
- Dan Rather on CBS News Special Report, May 4.

"That's what they were: a small group of powerful people with an abiding distrust of the democratic process, unwilling to let the public's view get in the way of their own."
- USA Today editorial.

"Whether it's in the White House, or it's in Central Park, the American people don't want to tolerate wilding, and that's what those guys did. They mugged the U.S. Constitution...Ollie North... should serve time."
- Former Washington Post reporter Martin Schram on CNN's Capital Gang, May 6.

 

Jury of Peers


"He was guilty, but I don't think he should go to jail for it."
- Juror Earl Williams on May 4 CBS Special Report.

"Well, personally, I feel that if he's guilty, he should go to jail."
- Earl Williams on Good Morning America, next day.

 

National Parks


"Last summer's devastating forest fires focused national attention on Yellowstone Park. But environmentalists believe the greatest damage had already been done - by the Reagan Administration."
- Opening of May 9 Frontline on PBS.

 

NATO


"After 40 years of dealing with the Soviet military threat, NATO must now come to grips with the idea of peace."
- Reporter Bob Zelnick on ABC's World News Tonight, April 20.

"There have been suggestions that President Bush could help - by leading the search for compromise rather than following the Thatcher hard line."
- Reporter Arthur Kent on West Germany's resistance to new missiles, April 30 NBC Nightly News.

 

Guts and Glory


"If he had broken a law to save a grove of trees, or the snail darter, or something, everyone in show business, all my friends, would be, 'let this guy go.' You know? But because he was a hawk, they're against him. But I tell you in middle America you know, just as soon as you get over the Hollywood Hills into the San Fernando Valley, and all the way to Long Island before you go into Manhattan, they love him."
- Actor David Keith, who played Oliver North in the CBS movie Guts and Glory, on Movietime, April 29.

 

Economy


"Yes, one economist agreed, the economy is on a magic carpet ride. The problem, he went on, is that no one knows when we're going to fall off."
- Reporter Bob Faw concluding an April 28 CBS Evening News story.

 

Afghanistan


"As rockets made in the U.S.A. keep falling here and flares to deflect those rockets keep burning small children, resentment towards the United States grows...For the Russians, Afghanistan may no longer be what Gorbachev called, 'a bleeding wound.' But for many here what is bleeding now is America's image."
- Reporter Bob Faw on the May 1 CBS Evening News.

 

Margaret Thatcher


"Mrs. Thatcher has proved to be an Iron Lady at home and abroad....And in the process, she converted 10 Downing Street into what's been described as an elective dictatorship."
- John Laurence on ABC's World News Tonight, May 3.

 

Education Spending


"Where's Washington's hand in all this? Where are the new programs we need? Where are the new monies we need? Where is the aggressive approach we need?"
- Bryant Gumbel to Education Secretary Cavazos on Today, May 3.

"The critics may have to explain why, if money is the solution, the U.S. has a problem. This country already spends more per student on education than any country on earth."
- Brit Hume on ABC's World News Tonight, April 5.

 

Abortion


"The true conservative who believes government has little or no right to invade private lives, should absolutely support the original Roe vs. Wade decision."
- CNN and Mutual Broadcasting talk show host Larry King in USA Today, May 1.

Judy Woodruff: "Judge Bork, you have argued, you've said that it is better to settle cases like this, in a legislative body rather than in the courts. Why is it better to take a question, a controversial question like abortion, we saw, again today the public opinion polls show great division among the American people on this, why is it better to put it in the legislature?"
Robert Bork: "You're asking me why is self-government better than rule by an authoritarian body."
- Exchange on MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, April 28.

 

Captain Planet


"Captain Planet follows the adventure of five youngsters from five continents who have been assembled by Gaia, the Spirit of the Earth, to save the planet. Helping them in their mission is 'Captain Planet,' a super-hero who uses the power of nature itself - including the unstoppable force of the earthquake, the irresistible onslaught of the tidal wave, the flight of the eagle and the electrifying shock of a lightning bolt. Among the threats they will face together are overpopulation, global warming, toxic waste, acid rain and the depletion of endangered species."
- From April 11 Turner Broadcasting System announcement of a new cartoon series.

 

Headline of the Month


"K.G.B. Is Seeking a Friendlier, More Upbeat Image"
- New York Times, May 7.

 

- L. Brent Bozell III; Publisher
- Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham; Editors
- Jim Heiser, Richard Marois, Patrick Swan, Dorothy Warner; Media Analysts
- Cynthia Bulman; Administrative Assistant