Notable Quotables - 10/14/1991

 

Temperate Totenberg


"What politicians get tired of is bias in reporters. You've been beating the drum on this one almost every day since it started, in the most extraordinary way. Let's not pretend your reporting is objective in here. That just would be absurd."
- Senator Alan Simpson to National Public Radio Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg on Nightline, October 7.

"All I do is report. I don't know who's telling the truth here. There are inconsistencies on all sides. But I do know that I do not appreciate being blamed just because I do my job and report the news."
- Totenberg's reply, same show.

"You big [expletive]....You are so full of [expletive]. You are an evil man....I don't have to listen to this [expletive]. You're a bitter and evil man and all your colleagues hate you."
- Totenberg to Simpson after Nightline, as Simpson told The Washington Post, October 9.

 

Arms Cut Reaction


"Hill Leaders Show Solid Support for Bush's Arms Cut Proposal"
- Washington Post, September 28

"Bush's cuts aren't enough, Democrats say"
- Boston Globe, same day

 

Rather's Tough Interview


"Why do you believe this man, Judge Thomas, that you have worked closely with for a long time, has not spoken directly to what you consider to be the substance of this charge?"

"Directly, do you think Clarence Thomas is fit to sit on the Supreme Court?"

"Is it fair or not fair to say that you would not trust him as a Supreme Court Justice?"
- Dan Rather's questions to Anita Hill, October 7 Evening News.

 

Rather Recollections


"This is a book about these times and the people. It's about how much has changed: standards of living medicine morals authority respect jobs ditch digging street fighting parenting religion air-conditioning
- From chapter one of Dan Rather's childhood memoir, I Remember, which begins: "My best friends still call me Rags."

 

Advising Democrats


"The country is going nowhere while George Bush's friends are living off their windfalls from the 'greed is good' days. Make that your campaign centerpiece - public distaste for the '80s is real. Bush spent those years in the White House, worshipping debt and calling it growth. Bush made Dukakis wear Willie Horton. You can hang Mike Milken around his neck. Both felons, right? And who did more harm to America?"
- Boston Globe Magazine staff writer John Powers on what the Democrats should do, October 6.

 

What's the Joke?


"A joke making the rounds in Washington yesterday illustrated the Democratic strategy. Question: What is the difference between a massive Republican defense cut and a massive Democratic defense cut? Answer: A Republican cut costs extra money, while a Democratic cut could restore funding for every domestic cut made by Presidents Reagan and Bush - and have money left over to put a Democrat in the White House."
- Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish, October 1 news story.

 

Soviet Republics: Spoiled Runaway Kids


"Here is what the continental United States would look like without California, New York, Texas, and Florida. Well, it won't happen, of course. Every kid dreams about running away. But if they do, 99 percent of them decide it was a bad idea and come home. My bet is that in a few years half those Soviet states that left the Union will come home."
- Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes, September 29.


Bring Back Make-Work Government Jobs


"During the 1930s, the government turned to massive public works projects to pull the nation out of the Great Depression. Government spending on programs like the interstate highway system in the 1950s was also used to help end several recessions."
- ABC reporter Stephen Aug on World News Tonight, September 26.

"New efforts are being made to measure the potential payoff to the economy from more public works projects, a potential that was minimized in the 1980."
- New York Times reporter Louis Uchitelle, September 29.

 

Bearish and Bullish Bush


"Bush: 'All Is Not Well': President Tempers Optimism on Economy"
- Washington Post, October 5

"Bush sounds bullish on economy"
- Washington Times, same day

 

Low Taxes Created This Mess


"You want to lower taxes? Wouldn't that result in an increased deficit? And haven't we come to believe that that's part of our problem in this country?"
- Sam Donaldson to Macy's Chairman Edward Finkelstein on This Week with David Brinkley, September 22.


The Cure: More Money


"With middle-class taxpayers also feeling the pinch of recession, though, there is scant support for reversing government budget cuts in social programs. So people behind private programs worry poverty in the U.S. will have to reach epidemic proportions before the public will face the rising cost of the cure and put more money into prevention."
- CNN reporter Brian Jenkins concluding September 27 World News story.

 

The Michael K. Frisby Special Section


"I think he's demagoging. It's Willie Horton with a yarmulke."
- Boston Globe reporter Michael K. Frisby on Bush's Israel policy, Fox's Off the Record, September 22.

"What happened in the '80s was a fraud! Ronald Reagan did not push economic growth....[state and local government] money was cut! Their money for police, their money for communities, all of their money was cut back by Ronald Reagan. That's why they are in trouble."
- Frisby, same show, October 6.

"We can't forget that [David] Duke really is a child of the Republican race-based politics. When Ronald Reagan talked about the welfare queen, that's what David Duke is talking about today."
- Frisby, same show, October 6.

 

- L. Brent Bozell III; Publisher
- Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham; Editors
- Nicholas Damask, Sally Hood, Marian Kelley, Tim Lamer; Media Analysts
- Jennifer Hardebeck; Circulation Manager