Notable Quotables - 11/09/1992
Clinton Wins: It's Reagan's Fault
"When I covered
Bush's 1980 primary campaign against Ronald Reagan, he opposed Reagan's
economic program. He called it `voodoo economics' - said it wouldn't work.
But then of course, Bush agreed to be Reagan's running mate. For eight years,
he supported policies which, it is now widely acknowledged, contributed
mightily to our excesses then and our economic problems now; above all,
America being held hostage by debt. George Bush went along to get ahead, and
it worked. He became President. Now Ronald Reagan is in happy retirement in
California, and President Bush is left to pay the price. The price for
supporting something he did not believe in to begin with. He knows it - knows
it is now too late to do anything about that fateful bargain he entered into
twelve years ago. Going along to get ahead made George Bush President. Now it
may unmake him. The ancient Greeks wrote about this sort of thing. They called
it tragedy."
- NBC anchor Garrick Utley, October 17 Nightly News.
Ratherisms
"It will be so
exciting as to make the wax pop out of your ears."
- Dan Rather during election coverage.
"There's material
here that will make their fingernails sweat."
- Rather.
"Long ago and far
away, I worked a Zesto stand in Huntsville, Texas, and if a guy came in and
asked for a glass of water, didn't buy anything, I'm not sure what my reaction
would have been."
- Rather after a story about Clinton getting free water in a McDonald's after
jogging.
"Texas...another of
the so-called big enchiladas, or if not an enchilada, at least a huge
taco."
- Rather.
"This woman has
gotten a very bad rap, Hillary Clinton. It is true that she's smart. She
didn't go to school just to eat her lunch."
- Rather.
"While the
Clinton-Gore campaign was as unstoppable as say, a Beethoven symphony..."
- Rather.
"This was one of
the nastiest campaigns in the country, and boy that's saying a lot this year.
These two men called each other names you normally only hear aboard merchant
ships or on late- night cable TV. This was really down and dirty."
- Rather on the D'Amato-Abrams New York Senate race.
"I'd like to leave
you with the words of that popular, secular, patriotic hymn: `Long may our
land be bright with freedom's holy light.'"
- Rather, approaching tears at 2am EST.
Our Poll Shows Conventions Didn't Matter, But They Did
Dan Rather: "Did
people talk about the Buchanan speech at the Republican convention? Jerry
Falwell, Pat Robertson being there at the President's side? Was that mentioned
very often?
Ed Bradley: "Well,
I don't have it in this survey, but my recollection of talking to people in an
informal survey, and particularly among Republicans, there were a number of
Republicans who said that they felt let down by their convention, watching it
on TV, that what Pat Buchanan had to say, that some of the positions of the
religious right did not represent the way that they felt. And I think this is
an issue that's going to affect the Republicans four years from now...The
Republican Party is going to have to come back toward the center, instead of
going toward the right, because I think going toward the right hurt them
tonight."
- Exchange from CBS election night coverage.
"We gave the voters
a list of things to choose from, Dan, things that helped them make up their
minds. I think in past years the conventions were very important, how they
played on television, television ads. This year, they fell at the bottom of
the list. The single most important thing that helped them decide were the
debates between the candidates, 64 percent said that was number one."
- Bradley, two minutes earlier.
The Houston Convention: A New Willie Horton?
"There are many
people in the Republican Party who believe that the Republican National
Convention in Houston, at which you were a prominent part, was simply too
extreme, too strident in its positions, and they cite your speech and Pat
Buchanan's speech as well."
- Tom Brokaw to Pat Robertson, election night.
"I think that the
convention - and certainly all the polling data indicates this - offended a
lot of women, offended a lot of people in the country who thought it was too
religious and too hard-edged."
- John Chancellor during NBC election coverage.
"Well, you've seen
one of the old maxims in presidential politics is you may have to move to the
far right or the far left during a primary to pull in those voters to support
you during a primary, but you've got to move back and moderate for the general
election. We remember the convention in Houston, the Patrick Buchanans and the
very conservative movement that took over - looks like it may have hurt the
President."
- CNN anchor Catherine Crier during election coverage.
Lisa McRee:
"Patrick Buchanan's speech was one of those speeches that not many people
will ever forget. It divided the party and many moderates were frightened away
by that. Patrick Buchanan is a very smart man...I find it hard to believe that
he didn't know what kind of effect his speech was going to have."
Ann Compton:
"...There are those who also say that George Bush's biggest mistake this
whole year has been pandering to the end of the party, which is not going to
pull together the kind of votes he needed to win nationwide."
- ABC's World News Now, November 4.
Clinton Shouldn't Make Anti-Tax Pledges
"One of the best
things about Bill Clinton's campaign, I think, has been that he has criticized
George Bush's no-tax pledge, saying he would never take such a pledge. Well,
last night he came awfully close. There are a lot of loopholes in his pledge.
But he said that he would never tax the middle class, and if things don't work
out right, he still won't tax the middle class. I think that was one of the
worst things I've heard from Bill Clinton."
- NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell, October 20 Today.
A Caring President
"What about race,
the oldest American problem? Both candidates skirted the issue....Might be
understandable in a political campaign, but an impossible way for a caring
President to behave. What about the people sleeping in the streets of every
large city? An intolerable situation for a country that calls itself
great."
- From Charles Kuralt's "essay," CBS election coverage.
Hurray for Hillary
"It hasn't been
easy being the Woman in this Year of the Woman, everybody's favorite target
for all that's dangerous about being independent, smart, impatient,
articulate, outspoken, ambitious - and while she's at it, a three-fer: wife,
mother, and successful corporate lawyer. By any standard, Hillary Clinton has
been a handful for America to deal with."
- Washington Post reporter Donnie Radcliffe, October 30.
"In six speeches
and rallies in Denver and Atlanta observed over two days, the woman whom
Republicans tried to smear as a cookie- hating Lady Macbeth is being greeted
more like an Eleanor Roosevelt. Like Roosevelt, she has overcome criticism
from those who resent her independence, earning widespread affection and
respect for doing just that."
- Chicago Tribune reporter Jessica Seigel, Oct. 20.
Star of the Week
"My star is Barbara
Boxer, who everyone thought was a goner last week after suffering lots of
blows from Bruce Herschensohn, who's running against her for Senate in
California."
- Newsweek reporter Clara Bingham on the Fox Morning News,
October 26.
- L. Brent Bozell III;
Publisher
- Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham; Editors
- Brant Clifton, Nicholas Damask, Steve Kaminski, Marian Kelley, Tim Lamer;
Media Analysts
- Jennifer Hardebeck; Circulation Manager
- David Muska; Intern
