Notable Quotables - 08/18/2003
I Can Smear Arnold, But You Can't
"He's admitted smoking marijuana, using
steroids during his body-building career. He's the son of a Nazi Party member.
He said he was prejudiced before overcoming those feelings by working with the
Simon Weisenthal Center in Los Angeles, and the dean of the Center said an
investigation of Schwarzenegger's late father, conducted at the actor's
request, found no evidence of war crimes. Through his publicist he's denied
allegations published in Premiere magazine in March 2001 that he sexually
harassed women and committed infidelity. All those things - are they gonna be
front and center, Darry, do you think in this campaign?"
-Katie Couric to Democratic consultant Darry Sragow, August 7 Today.
"The New York Daily News says, 'a Simon
strategist said his lagging campaign plans to win by stirring up the base,
spotlighting the actor's raunchy past and liberal social views,' meaning
Arnold Schwarzenegger. How dirty will you get?"
-Couric to GOP candidate Bill Simon, August 11 Today.
Since Your Election Was a Sham...
"I'd like to ask you about the recall
campaign. Since you're not only the leader of this country, but as someone who
came into office under extraordinarily partisan circumstances, do you view
this recall, which was funded almost entirely by one wealthy Republican who
would like to be Governor, as a legitimate, democratic exercise?"
-Los Angeles Times reporter Edwin Chen to President Bush at his
July 30 press conference.
Drooling Over Leon Panetta
"A lot of California Democrats were salivating
at the thought that Mr. Panetta himself might jump into the Governor's race.
He joins us tonight from Seaside, California. You had too much common sense,
or what?...Not to press the issue too much, but since its gonna happen
anyway, why not have a, you know, a good, strong, sensible politician like
yourself to say, well, let's make the best of a bad deal and here I am and
I'll try and help make it work?"
-Ted Koppel to Panetta on ABC's Nightline August 7.
Eek! A Right-Wing Cabal!
"In terms of the overall recall process, Mr.
Torres, do you think there's collusion in the Republican Party that goes all
the way to the White House?"
-Matt Lauer to California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres on the
August 8 Today show.
Al-Qaeda Loves New Baghdad
"Overturning Saddam is not a central battle in
that war against terrorism. In fact, al-Qaeda is probably finding it more
hospitable in Baghdad today than they did before."
-Eleanor Clift on the August 9 McLaughlin Group.
Flimsy, Nonexistent Case for War
"The world is a better place, and the region
certainly a better place, without Saddam Hussein. But theres a sense here in
this country, and a feeling around the world, that the U.S. has lost
credibility by building the case for Iraq upon sometimes flimsy or, some
people have complained, nonexistent evidence. I'm just wondering sir, why did
you choose to take the world to war in that way?"
-CBS's John Roberts at Bushs July 30 press conference.
Which Way Is It?
"The President's critics say that his claims
of an Iraq/al-Qaeda alliance may be the next shoe to drop in the intelligence
controversy, and that while the world may be better off without Saddam
Hussein, that alone is not a rationale to take the nation to war."
-CBS White House reporter John Roberts, July 30 Evening News.
"Military commanders now believe al-Qaeda
terrorist cells are most likely working in Iraq, part of the resistance still
loyal to Saddam Hussein."
-CBS Baghdad reporter Byron Pitts on the July 31 Evening News.
Seeking Advice from a Terrorist
"What would you advise the United States to do
today to fight al-Qaeda?...What would be the wise course for the United States
to follow now in Iraq?"
-George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week, Aug. 3, interviewing
Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi, sponsor of several anti-American terrorist
attacks in the 1980s.
Reuters Joins in Election Charade
"North Korea said on Monday that polls in
which voters gave leader Kim Jong-il 100 percent support showed the communist
state was 'firm as a rock' in the face of economic woes and isolation over its
nuclear ambitions. The 61-year-old Kim was one of 687 deputies elected
unopposed on Sunday.... "
-Reuters' Paul Eckert from Seoul in an Aug. 4 dispatch, "N. Korea Hails
100 Percent Poll Support for Leader."
Howard Dean's Media Makeover
"Much of Dr. Dean's presidential platform,
particularly his plan for universal health insurance, is an outgrowth of his
accomplishments in Vermont. He remains a fiscal conservative, he believes gun
control should be left to the states and he favors the death penalty for some
crimes."
-New York Times reporters Jodi Wilgoren and David Rosenbaum, July
30.
"As Governor, Dean Was Fiscal Conservative;
Presidential Candidate Imposed Discipline on Vermont Legislatures Efforts to
Spend."
-Washington Post front page headline, August 3.
"The fact is if you look at his record as
Governor, he got an 'A' rating from the National Rifle Association, he
balanced the budget in Vermont which is the only state in the Union that
does not have a constitutional requirement that you balance it, but he
balanced it anyway. He imposed work requirements on welfare recipients two
years before Washington did. There's a lot in his record that looks not only
moderate, but even conservative."
-Time reporter Karen Tumulty on C-SPAN's Washington Journal,
August 6.
"He is a kind of a complicated mix of liberal
and moderate positions. He's a fiscal conservative and he was in Vermont."
-USA Today reporter Jill Lawrence on CBS's Face the Nation,
August 10.
"He's also a fiscal conservative. And
economically he's not as much of a wild-eyed liberal as people think he is."
-Newsweek's Martha Brant, Aug. 9 Inside Washington.
"He is a rock-ribbed budget hawk, a moderate
on gays and guns, and a true lefty on only a few issues, primarily the use of
U.S. military power."
-Time reporter John Cloud, August 11 issue.
"When the word gets out that Dean isn't
liberal - and in fact is quite conservative - on fiscal issues, he'll pick up
more McCain support....On fiscal issues, he's far to the right of [Ted]
Kennedy."
-Senior Editor Jonathan Alter in an August 6 online chat at the
Newsweek Web site.
Reality Check:
"After 12 years of Dean's so-called 'fiscal conservatism,' Vermont remains one
of the highest taxing and spending states."
-Cato Institute's "Fiscal Policy Report on the Nations Governors, 2002."
Mondale & Dukakis Not Liberal
"The rap on Dean is that he's like Dukakis and
Mondale and McGovern. Well, McGovern was a liberal, but we had an issue and
that was the war. Dukakis was no liberal and neither was Mondale. Both of them
had several people to the left in those primaries. It was what the Republicans
did to them once they got the nomination that made them seem to be liberals in
both cases."
-Former NBC and CNN reporter Ken Bode on the syndicated Chris Matthews
Show, August 10.
Hillary Is a Real Bargain
John Cochran: Remember the $8 million advance
Hillary Clinton's publisher gave her? Turns out it was a bargain. She has
earned every penny - and then some. Her book is a best-seller in eight
countries....She has not only signed 20,000 copies of her book, she has also
put her name on more legislation than any other Senator in this Congress.
Sponsoring or co-sponsoring 396 bills, ranging from resolutions on Girl Scouts
Week to funds for rebuilding Iraq and-
Senator Hillary Clinton: - to help them improve our homeland defense."
-ABCs World News Tonight, July 31.
More a Sieve Than a Filter
"I'm not going to judge anybody else in the
business, but our work - I can speak for NBC News and our newsroom - it goes
through, talk about checks and balances. We have an inordinate number of
editors. Every word I write, before it goes on air, goes through all kinds of
traps and filters, and it's read by all kinds of different people who point
out bias."
-CNBC anchor Brian Williams on Comedy Central's The Daily Show,
July 29.
Bias Hiding Among the Fish
"If you see a whole monkfish at the market,
you'll find its massive mouth scarier than a shark's. Apparently it sits on
the bottom of the ocean, opens its Godzilla jaws and waits for poor
unsuspecting fishies to swim right into it, not unlike the latest recipients
of W's capital-gains cuts."
-Food writer Jonathan Reynolds in a July 27 New York Times Magazine
article about eating seafood in Norway.
Admiring Arnold's Liberal Heart
"I think he [Arnold Schwarzenegger] will make
a fantastic Governor...I actually believe he's really, at his heart, even
though he pretends to be a Republican, I think he's a social Democrat at
heart."
-Actress Jamie Lee Curtis on Good Morning America, August 7.
