Notable Quotables - 07/25/1988
Nicaragua
"For months the
Sandinistas have been trying to influence favorably U.S. public opinion by
being flexible, permitting democracy. But now the Sandinistas simply say
flexibility is not working, and they will adopt a harder line."
- NBC's Ed Rabel on July 12, after the Sandinistas expelled the U.S.
Ambassador, arrested demonstrators, closed down La Prensa and Radio
Catolica.
Campaign '88
"But that is also
Bush's challenge: convincing workers displaced in the changing American
economy that he can put compassion into Reaganomics."
- Reporter Jacqueline Adams, CBS Evening News, July 1.
"On reporters who
continued to ask about his Vice-Presidential selection process and why it
seems to be dragging on, Dukakis said, 'I love picking people, I enjoy this
process. It is an important choice, and I'm going to make it.' Vice President
Bush also did a bit of campaigning today, but according to reporters present,
didn't say anything noteworthy."
- Sam Donaldson, World News Sunday, July 10.
"In Texas, Bentsen
comes from the same conservative, Democratic faction that produced Lyndon
Johnson."
- Reporter Ken Bode, NBC Nightly News, July 12.
"Lloyd Bentsen, the
67-year-old, conservative, Texas Democrat."
- Sam Donaldson, World News Tonight, July 12.
"Dukakis Wants to
Play by the Rules: What's so unnerving about a candidate who has actually read
the Rio Treaty?"
- Time magazine, July 18.
Democratic National Convention
"Didn't the
Democrats read the Ronald Reagan 1980 handbook as Reagan in '80 tried to blur
the fact he was a conservative. He tried to disguise his ideology to some
extent, didn't run very firmly on the issues, and won."
- Lesley Stahl to Bush campaign manager Lee Atwater, July 24 Face the
Nation.
"Jesse Jackson got
what every terrorist demands: ten million dollars and a plane."
- Pat Buchanan on the McLaughlin Group, July 23.
"Today's
Jane Pauley, perky as ever on her Wednesday morning broadcast, has resilience.
She arose for work at 4 a.m., as usual, after having stayed up until the wee
hours. The compelling draw to keep her out late Tuesday night? Visiting the
convention. 'I'm a Jesse fan,' she says."
- USA Today, July 21.
"Jesse Jackson
succeeded in conducting a brilliant presidential campaign in which he enlisted
white support as well as black support...and conducted a mainstream
campaign."
- Walter Cronkite, July 20.
"He [Jackson] has
become here, a kind of new, he's acquired a new status. He's almost like
Hubert Humphrey was, a sort of conscience of the country."
- Eric Sevareid during CBS News coverage, July 20.
"Also, by voting
down the minority plank on no first use, they come out as strong on defense,
they follow traditional American policy."
- Reporter Ed Bradley on CBS, July 19.
"Nobody almost is
an old-fashioned liberal anymore in a sense of 'let's throw some money at a
problem.'"
- Reporter Bruce Morton on CBS, July 19.
"This time, I think
people are worried about the deficit, they're worried about the trade deficit,
they want to spend more on their children, on schools, on education, on day
care....I think there's more willingness to talk about and think about it [a
tax increase]. I think the national mood is also swinging a away from 'greed
is good' back toward 'we've got to do something about the least advantaged in
our society."
- also Morton, same night.
"This is a party
which is redefining itself in perhaps a less liberal way than the late
President Kennedy's did in his lifetime."
- ABC's Peter Jennings July 19.
"Dukakis is basing
his presidential campaign on the argument...a rational, competent manager is
what this country needs. Friend, foe, or neutral almost all agree that this is
the kind of presidency Michael Dukakis would bring to the White House."
- Reporter Jeff Greenfield during ABC News coverage, July 19.
"This mainstream
lady."
- Morton on Texas Treasurer Ann Richards, July 18.
"She's a tough
former county commissioner, and a die hard member of the liberal wing of the
Texas party."
- Diane Sawyer, same network, one hour earlier.
Ed Meese
"Meese could still
face a Justice Department investigation for non-criminal ethics violations.
But meanwhile, since he was not indicted, he is now entitled to ask the
taxpayers to pick up his legal bill for more than $250,000."
- Reporter Rita Braver, July 18 CBS Evening News.
Reagan Doctrine
"The speechwriters
loved [Jack] Wheeler because he put meat on the bones of the Reagan rhetoric
and brought it to life. He had been to the bush and returned with the good
news that the Reagan fantasy of beating back communism around the world not
only existed, but was alive and well on at least five major fronts."
- Boston Globe reporter Ben Bradlee Jr. in his book, Guts and
Glory, The Rise and Fall of Oliver North.
Freudian Slip of the Month
"Wright Ethics
Probe Stays in Shadows: Even 'Mock-Trial' Goes Largely Ignored"
- Washington Post, July 20.
- 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
