New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman Wins Quote of the Year; Claimed "9/11... Has Become an Occasion for Shame"
Alexandria, VA – The Media Research Center (MRC) announces The Best Notable Quotables of 2011: The 24th Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting today with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman taking home the 'Quote of the Year' honor. Voted on by a select panel of judges, and certainly disappointing Chris Matthews who did not repeat last year's victory, Krugman's quote about leaders on the right capitalizing on the atrocities of 9/11 was just too notable to pass over. In a blog post on the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Krugman wrote:
'What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not — was deeply shameful. . .The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.'
Runner-up for Quote of the Year also goes to a print outlet: Esquire Magazine's Stephen Marche. In an August column, the writer pined after President Obama:
'Can we just enjoy Obama for a moment? Before the policy choices have to be weighed and the hard decisions have to be made, can we just take a month or two to contemplate him the way we might contemplate a painting by Vermeer or a guitar lick by the early-seventies Rolling Stones or a Peyton Manning pass or any other astounding, ecstatic human achievement?'
MRC President Brent Bozell:
'Kudos once again to the so-called news reporters across America! Your willingness to wear your heart on your sleeve as you attack the right and make idols of the left gave us so much to consider when picking the best quotes of the year. Our nation is not blind to the high unemployment and failed policies of this Administration, yet you continue to operate with blinders on. And for that, we congratulate your fierce determination. Even in the face of truth, you continue to ignore it.'
The winners were selected by a panel of 48 judges, including nationally syndicated talk radio host Mark Levin, columnist Cal Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of World magazine Marvin Olasky, and American Spectator Editor-in-Chief R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.
For audio and video clips of the broadcast quotes, to access full quotes, or see winners and runners up, please visit www.MRC.org.
Other highlights include:
Refusing to Acknowledge the Obvious Award for Denying Liberal Media Bias
'Hardball is absolutely non-partisan.'
— MSNBC's Chris Matthews in an interview with local Washington, D.C. host Carol Joynt, as quoted by The Politico's Patrick Gavin in a December 9, 2010 article.
The Audacity of Dopes Award for the Wackiest Analysis of the Year
'The bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country has been one of the most disturbing stories to surface this year....Maybe we need a Muslim version of The Cosby Show....I know that sounds crazy. But The Cosby Show did so much to change attitudes about African-Americans in this country, and I think sometimes people are afraid of things they don't understand.'
— CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on her CBSNews.com @KatieCouric Web show, December 22, 2010.
Hopeless Dopes Award for Discrediting Obama's Opponents
'Question about Texas. Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times — [audience cheers and applause] — have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?...What do you make of that dynamic that just happened here, the mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause?'
'Senator Santorum, on another front, you're a devout Catholic....Having said that, the Catholic faith has, as a part of it, caring for the poor. One in seven people in this country now qualifies as poor. Where do the poor come in, where do they place in this party, on this stage, in a Santorum administration?'
— Moderator Brian Williams to candidates Rick Perry and Rick Santorum during MSNBC's Republican presidential candidate debate, September 7.
Occupy My Heart and Soul Award for Left-Wing Protest Promotion
'We thought we'd bring you up to date on those protesters, the Occupy Wall Street movement. As of tonight, it has spread to more than 250 American cities, more than a thousand countries — every continent but Antarctica.'
— Diane Sawyer on ABC's World News, October 10. On a later edition, Sawyer corrected her still-absurd hype: '...more than a thousand cities around the world.'
