backtop

A bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, 
quotes in the liberal media.

June 12, 2000

(Vol. Thirteen; No. 12)  

Aren't We Frightening?

"What's the greatest threat to Russia: Islamic terrorism coming out of Afghanistan or NATO now expanding?"
-- Tom Brokaw to Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 1 NBC Nightly News.

The Food Will Kill You, Too

"But isn't it just a case of terrible timing, Mr. LaPierre? I mean, not coincidentally, we've had a show this morning that's been filled with a murder in Los Angeles, a murder in Florida, five people were executed in a Wendy's restaurant here in New York just last week. I mean, this doesn't seem like the time you want to be promoting guns?"
-- Matt Lauer to NRA Executive VP Wayne LaPierre about plans to open a restaurant in Times Square, May 30 Today.

Clinton's "So-Called" Lies

"It's a 1.5 and this was a so-called lie that didn't harm anybody, that was irrelevant to a case that was eventually thrown out and does not go to his responsibility as a lawyer." 
- Newsweek's Eleanor Clift offering a 1 to 10 scale evaluation of how fitting disbarment is for Clinton's offense, May 27 McLaughlin Group.

"Ultraconservative" Bob Casey?

"Bob Casey has died tonight, word just in to us. The former two-term Governor of Pennsylvania, a Democrat but a devout Catholic and thus was ultraconservative on the topic of abortion. In fact, his name will forever be attached to a landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion."
-- Brian Williams on his MSNBC show, The News with Brian Williams, May 30.

Reality Check:
"And what a record Governor Casey wrote: medical coverage for every child in the state, increasing funding for public schools, worker rights, more women in his cabinet than any U.S. Governor. So then why did the major press, including CNN, call Bob Casey - an FDR-JFK liberal - a conservative? Because the press predictably calls for the Republican big tent to welcome pro-choicers. But when pro-life Bob Casey was silenced by Democrats, the press lost its voice. You don't have to back economic and racial justice. The litmus test to be a liberal by contemporary press standards is simply to be an unqualified supporter of legal abortion."
-- Columnist Mark Shields on CNN's Capital Gang, June 3.

It's Not Her Fault, It's Our Fault

"Why do you think Hillary Clinton elicits such powerful emotions? Why is she such a polarizing figure?"
"But don't you think there's an awful lot of projection that goes on in terms of how people view her, placing their own confused states or their role in society or how powerful should women be and it's sort of projected upon her as an individual?"
-- Today co-host Katie Couric's first two questions to Laura Ingraham, author of The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places, June 7.

Communism vs. Commercialism

"Havana Ball. The Cuban-American community was (again) outraged last week, when a new photo of Elian was released. Was it the Pioneer scarf instead of the TV-show T-shirt, the lack of sunglasses or the switching of a $129 scooter for two wooden sticks?"
-- Unbylined Time comparison of Elian photos in Young Pioneers outfit and Blue's Clues T-shirt, May 29.

Elian, Learn Ballet on the Farm!

"Like these young dancers, Carlos [Acosta] benefited from Cuba's communist system because it not only recognizes physical talent, it nurtures it, whether it's baseball, boxing, or ballet."
-- CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Christiane Amanpour on a star of London's Royal Ballet, May 21.

"Cuba's 'school in the countryside' is based not on Marxist philosophy, but rather on the teachings of Cuba's nationalist hero Jose Marti. Back in the late 1800s, he taught that young people had to not only learn to study, but also love and respect hard work. The theory was put into practice by Cuba's communist government 40 years ago, when students were even called on to help with the labor-intensive sugar harvest. Not any more.
"Today the work is lighter, harvesting 'bonato,' or potatoes, or picking oranges or tobacco. Sundays are special. That's when the family comes to visit. This is the first time most of these adolescents have been separated from their parents....This sign above the kitchen reads, 'We believe in Fidel,' but what most students tell us is that what the farm school experience does is teach them to believe more in themselves and the importance of camaraderie."
-- CNN Havana reporter Lucia Newman on the reality about "labor camps" to which Cubans are sent in 8th grade, May 26 The World Today.

Even Liberals See Pro-Gore Bias

"If this had been a Republican, people would have been crying 'slumlord.' That would be the headline - 'Slumlord' - and a man who doesn't take care of little people..."
-- National Public Radio talk show host Juan Williams on Gore's tenant problems, June 4 Fox News Sunday.

Uh-oh, Gore's a Goner

"According to half a dozen political scientists who have honed and polished the art of election forecasting, the die is all but cast. Today, with 165 days left before Americans go to the polls, they are saying Gore will win 53 to 60 percent of the vote cast for him and George W. Bush."
-- Washington Post reporter (and former Managing Editor) Robert G. Kaiser, May 26, 2000.

vs.

"Beneath the turmoil [of the campaign] lies a great stability and constancy in the ebb and flow of presidential elections that can yield predictions of remarkable accuracy.... While there is considerable quibbling over the estimated size of the Bush win, the forecasting fraternity seems virtually unanimous in the belief that it's four more years in the White House for the Republicans."
-- Post polling reporter Richard Morin, April 12, 1992.

Best Intentions on Evil Money

CBS News reporter John Roberts: "Senator John McCain, who ran for the White House on a platform to eliminate soft money, faults both parties."
John McCain: "It's a natural result of a system that's lurched out of control."
Roberts: "But for the sake of party loyalty, John McCain is throwing his support behind Republicans who oppose campaign finance reform, including George W. Bush. In the race for the presidency, even the best intentions often take a back seat to the need for big money."
-- May 24 CBS Evening News.

We Want Clinton to Stay Kinky

"And none of us really wants our President, Bill Clinton, to change even one iota. No one wants to see him toiling monastically on his memoirs or with a wrench in his hand, building low-cost housing for Habitat for Humanity. We expect and desire him, once he's thrown off the trammels of the presidency, to become the great Casanova (at least the great Bubbanova) of the Western world (at least the West Coast), noshing on marzipan as he steeps with a bevy of hot-tub hootchies in his Malibu compound."
-- Time essay by novelist Mark Leyner, June 5 issue.

Sarcasm on Anti-Communism

"This has been like a goldie oldies reunion for the political right. You know, a very wise man - as a matter of fact, it was you, Mark Shields - said that the problem with the political right, they had to go to a theme park in Albania to find a communist. This has brought a commie back. They've got Castro. They feel good. The American public could care less about it however. They agree with [guest panelist Democratic Senator] Chuck Robb, that a father basically ought to make a decision for a six-year-old. I hope he stays here. If he wants to go back to Cuba, that's his business."
-- Wall Street Journal Executive Washington Editor Al Hunt discussing Elian on CNN's Capital Gang, June 3.

Rushing to Hush Rush

"This week, our trend toward the celebrity-as-universal-expert may have reached a comic peak. ABC thinks maybe Rush Limbaugh can become the next Howard Cosell [as a Monday Night Football host]...Granted, Limbaugh is obnoxious and never forgets that promoting himself is the real subject of discussion. Shades of the late Howard? Rush even appeals to the right demographic: divorced, couch-potato, gun-worshiping, angry white guys. Sorry, I mean patriotic American males ages 25 to 34....If Limbaugh doesn't quite work out, ABC could always look in-house at another Disney-owned network: ESPN. Could baseball's game of the week use another voice in the booth? If Al Michaels gets Rush Limbaugh, maybe, someday, Jon Miller could be lucky enough to team up with John Rocker."
-- Washington Post sports columnist Tom Boswell, May 24.

"I have attended or watched all but about 5 or 6 MNF games in 30 years. If Rush Limbaugh is put in that booth, I will NOT listen to the broadcast. His views on people like me [blacks] are well documented, and I would find it insulting and hypocritical to watch him do the broadcast. And I'm sure, absolutely certain, there are tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands who feel the same way I do."
-- Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon in a washingtonpost.com chat session, May 26.

Rosie: NRA Doesn't Love Kids

"I would say, maybe their own kids, but not kids in general. The only life that is important to them is white, Republican life. Regardless of skin color, it offends me when someone is shot dead in America. [The NRA's position] is based on financial gain, not patriotism or love of children."
-- Talk show host/actress Rosie O'Donnell in an interview in the June 19 National Review.