Notable Quotables - 11/14/1988
Campaign '88: The Media
"[After the Quayle
attack], we then became the focus because George Bush very brilliantly
manipulated the whole issue around to us, which I predict is going to become
an increasing problem in this administration. And we always stand naked to it
because we can't hit back."
- CBS News National Affairs Correspondent Lesley Stahl, appearing as a
panelist on ABC's Viewpoint, November 9.
"It's not our place
to attack [Quayle]. It's not our place to defend him. It's our place to get
out what he said. And then we try to square it with the record, we try to
square it with the facts. But we are not there to attack....It's not our place
to attack."
- Sam Donaldson on Viewpoint, November 9.
Election Night: Dan Rather
"In Georgia, Bush has cut through Dukakis's hopes like a jackknife through peaches."
"In the national vote...if those margins stayed that way, it would be an absolute tee-total-me-mortal blowout for George Bush."
"George Bush, out of the blocks about as fast as Flo-Jo, our great runner in the Olympics."
"Our CBS News estimate is that incumbent Republican Senator William Roth has beaten off the challenge of Lieutenant Governor S.B. Woo. Who? Woo."
"For Michael Dukakis, it isn't over for him, but his back's to the wall, his shirt tail's on fire, and the bill collector is at the door."
"In Nebraska, George Bush turns out to be the best milker on the farm getting the five electoral votes out here."
"Fish have to swim, birds got to fly, and Republicans have to win in Arizona, George Bush does, gets its seven electoral college votes."
"Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, seeking a third term, has beaten back lawyer Robert McMillan. We say 'beaten back McMillan,' a lot of people thought that McMillan had as much business in this race as a moose in a phone booth."
"Well Bob, correct
me if I'm wrong, but Wyoming's had a, both Senators been a Republican since
well before Trigger was a colt."
- Insights from Dan Rather, November 8.
Campaign '88: Civil Rights
"If I'm a person
who's concerned about what I see as a deteriorating state of race relations in
the country, which George Bush am I going to get: the one who voted for fair
housing in '68 when it was unpopular, or the man who selected Dan Quayle, who
has a terrible civil rights record?....Can you deny that the Willie Horton ad
tapped a rather rich vein of American racism?"
- questions asked by NBC Today host Bryant Gumbel in an interview
with George Bush, November 2.
"Mr. Vice
President, you spoke during the campaign about your desire to eradicate
bigotry, yet you campaigned hardly at all in black neighborhoods and didn't
receive very many black votes. Specifically, what are you prepared to do to
assure these Americans that the next four years will not be a continuation of
the last eight?"
- NBC News reporter Lisa Myers, posing a question to Bush during November 9
press conference.
The Homeless
CNN Reporter Bob Franken:
"The nation's capital has seen many protests on behalf of the homeless.
But this one was a bit unusual because this one featured that symbol of
conspicuous consumption, actress Cher."
Cher: "I've
realized that it's not good to enjoy life in my house if you guys don't have a
house too."
Franken: "Cher did
not stick around to be arrested. She was in town to promote her new perfume
called 'Uninhibited.' It sells for $65 dollars for a quarter ounce."
- CNN PrimeNews, November 7.
Tax Hike
"The squeeze is on
and a modest tax increase would help a lot, but the candidates rule it out.
Bush's no new taxes position seems to mean that taxes would go up only if
there were an economic crisis. That drastically limits the flexibility any
government should have. Is it smart to wait for a crisis? Bush has accused
Dukakis of being for unilateral disarmament, yet Bush has disarmed himself by
promising no new taxes. Taxes are one of the most important economic weapons a
government has."
- John Chancellor, November 2 NBC Nightly News.
Campaign '88: Final Comments
"And when you cut
away the underbrush and ignore their 30 second commercials you find that both
hold political views somewhere near the center."
- David Brinkley on ABC's World News Tonight, November 8.
"Dukakis offers
more of a risk and potentially more of a reward. His selection would mark a
return to more communal values, as the nation gave liberalism another chance
to adapt to a changed environment and redeem its faith in activist
government."
- Time Senior Writer Walter Shapiro, November 7 issue.
"All over Texas
there were these enormous billboards beside the highway saying, 'Mike Dukakis
is going to take your guns away.' Now Mike Dukakis has no intention of doing
that, but it took him an inordinately long time in Texas to respond to that
early campaign against him there....There are people in the country who think
George Bush won not in a landslide, but a mudslide."
- ABC's Peter Jennings, election night.
The Economy
"The unemployment
rate did go down one tenth of a percent last month to 5.3 percent. That's the
same as it was in June. It's the lowest in 14 years, although many people who
are back employed are not working for the salaries they used to."
- Peter Jennings on World News Tonight, November 4.
Headline of the Month
"Underlying Flaws
in Economy Mar Legacy of Reagan Years: Despite Successes on Inflation and
Jobs, Problems of Deficits, Productivity, Wealth, Savings and Other Indices
Cloud Outlook for Future"
- Washington Post, November 13.
- 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
