January
16,
2004
"Soft Spoken, Gentle"
Daschle Accused Rush Listeners of Threats
"With his soft-spoken, almost gentle manner, Mr. Daschle is the rare politician who can go on the attack without seeming snappish; one word often used to describe him is 'decent.'"
- Sheryl Gay Stolberg, January 11.
Reality Check:
"What happens when [Rush] Limbaugh attacks those of us in public life is that people arent satisfied just to listen. They want to act because they get emotionally invested, and so the threats to those of us in public life go up dramatically on us and our families in a way thats disconcerting.We see it in foreign countries and we think, well my God, how can this religious fundamentalism become so violent? Well, its that same shrill rhetoric. Its that same shrill power that motivates....Pretty soon its a foment that becomes physical in addition to just verbal, and thats happening in this country.
- The "soft-spoken, gentle" Daschle accusing Limbaugh listeners of violent threats and comparing political opponents to religious nuts, November 20, 2002.
Blacks Angry At Bush
"When President Clinton came in 1996, he received a standing ovation. But this presidential visit will be different. It seems to have lifted the lid on long-simmering anger many blacks feel toward Mr. Bush. Some Bush policies, including tax cuts mainly benefiting those with higher incomes and cutting back on welfare-type programs, have alienated black voters, analysts say."
- Jeffrey Gettleman and Ariel Hart on a Bush visit to Atlanta to mark Martin Luther King day, January 15.
"Love Story," Starring Paul O'Neill
"[Former Treasury Secretary] Paul O'Neill finally realizes that Mr. Cheney is the leader of the inner circle, which keeps facts-whether about global warming, the deficit, steel tariffs or Iraq-from getting in the way of policy."
- Editorial board member Andres Martinez, January 14.
Bush's Election-Year Ploy to Help Iraq
"At the United Nations, Secretary General Kofi Annan is said to be highly reluctant to give his blessing to what is widely seen as a jerry-built process in effect concocted to let the United States hand over sovereignty to Iraq by June 30, as the American elections get under way."
- Steven Weisman and John Cushman Jr., January 16.
Iraq "Staggers" Through Another Hussein-Free Day
"A month after Saddam Hussein was pulled from his spider hole, and with the transfer of sovereignty looming, Iraq staggered through another disturbing day of violence and instability."
- Opening line to Edward Wong's story, January 14.
Hot For Communism in the Arctic
"as three Apatit machinists tipped back vodkas at a grocery store one recent evening, they complained that their circumstances had diminished under capitalism. 'Life was better under the Communists,' said Aleksandr, 49, who said he has worked here since he was 19; like the others, he asked that his last name not be used for fear of reprisal from the company.Victor, on the other hand, said the main problem was the long-gone stability of an earlier era of affordable health care, free higher education and housing, and the promise of a comfortable retirement-things now beyond his reach."
- Timothy O'Brien reporting from a town in Arctic Russia, January 11.
Bring Back the Berlin Wall
"All this has given rise to a sort of East German post-mortem feeling that maybe the East had its good aspects after all, especially a certain economic security and stability, even if your best vacation option was Bulgaria."
- Richard Bernstein, January 13.
MomsWho Needs'm!
"The obstacles of finding surrogate mothers and of discriminatory adoption laws that favor heterosexual couples have led some gay men to pursue parenthood with fervor."
- Ginia Bellafante, January 12.
Gay Marriage = Civil Rights?
"At times [Edwards] can be blunt. Two young lesbians at the University of New Hampshire challenged him on why he does not support marriage for gay couples, a stance that might seem at odds with his support for affirmative action and civil rights generally."
- James McKinley, January 12.
Extremist Zionists Provoke Palestinians to Kill
"Flagships of extreme Zionism that often attract hard-line ideologues, they provoke Palestinian fury and are difficult for the army to defend."
- Craig Smith on Israeli settlers living in the Gaza Strip, January 15.
Of Course, It's Never the Other Way Around
"Too often they treat us with contempt."
- Elisabeth Bumiller on the Bush White House, as quoted by Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, January 12.
