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
