Lingua publica
The
good and the bad...presented with permission from The Patriot E-Journal
web posted September 22, 2008
"The credit crunch and foreclosure problems are failures of government policy. In fact, what we see now is a market correction to foolhardy government policy. Congress' move to bailout lenders and borrowers who made poor decisions will simply create incentives for people to make unwise decisions in the future." -- Walter Williams
"Congress is back. If, upon reading those words, your hand shoots reflexively to your wallet or purse to make sure it's still there, then you know what comes next: A Gang of 16 in the Senate is pushing an energy bill that would spend billions of dollars, raise taxes, and do nothing to lower the price of gasoline." -- National Review
"At 35%, the United States has a higher corporate tax rate than France (34.4%), the United Kingdom (28%), Japan (30%), Germany (15.83%) and even that Scandinavian welfare state deluxe, Sweden (28%). And Barack Obama intends to keep it that way -- competitiveness be damned!" -- Don Feder
"If elected, President Obama, arm in arm with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, would be in a position to do serious damage to the country on a number of fronts. His convention speech removed any doubt that he is an orthodox, big -- no, huge -- government liberal." -- Mona Charen
"Obama's reaction to this sudden turn in his fortunes has been nothing less that sheer and visible disorientation. It's obvious that he simply doesn't know which way to turn, and his confusion has led him to launch a sleazy campaign to destroy Gov. Palin's reputation -- no matter what it takes -- before she destroys his presidential hopes." -- Michael Reagan
"[J]ust as foreclosures were showing up on B-17, or in the real estate section, along comes this horrific headline out of Wall Street... I mean, this is what [Obama and Biden] wanted. They believe, of course, that the economy is one of their strengths and that they can paint John McCain as George Bush." -- CNN's Candy Crowley
"Liberals have been so cowed by the pummeling they've taken from the right that they've tried to shed their own identity, calling themselves everything but liberal and hoping to pass conservative muster by presenting themselves as hyper-religious and lifelong lovers of rifles, handguns, whatever." -- New York Times columnist Bob Herbert
"I stand by the column [warning a ‘race war' would commence if John McCain defeats Barack Obama] -- but after all of that backlash, I realize I was dead wrong. We don't have to wait until after the election for a race war. We're in one now." -- Philadelphia Daily News columnist Fatimah Ali
"[Sarah Palin's] view of global warming reflects an extreme outside-the-mainstream view that John McCain doesn't share, and frankly, no respectable scientist shares." -CNN's Jeffrey Toobin repeating the "consensus" canard on global warming
"If we're going to ask questions about, you know, who has been promulgating negative ads that are completely unrelated to the issues at hand, I think I win that contest pretty handily." -- Barack Obama
"The campaign a person runs says everything about the way they'll govern." -- Joe Biden
"Should I be worried about being a slave and being returned to slavery? Because certain things happened in the Constitution that had to change." -- constitutional scholar Whoopie Goldberg to John McCain
"The only new polls Barack and Joe can take solace in are these just in from Europe. The Europeans love him, and none more than the French. The froggies give him a polling lead of 80 to 12, and John and Sarah aren't likely to make up enough ground by November to avoid arrest for loitering if they visit Paris... The Republicans can take their solace in the knowledge that the entire European Union, though overflowing with righteous piety, nevertheless has fewer electoral votes than Wyoming." -- Wesley Pruden
"Right now only Mrs. Palin can hurt Mrs. Palin. Messrs. Obama and Biden can't do it and shouldn't try. And the media can't, because more than half the country won't listen to them on this subject now, and for a while. The media could get videotape of Mrs. Palin saying, ‘We should invade Mars and it will be easy because Mars is hidden inside my hair!' and people would say, ‘Stop sliming Sarah!"' -- Peggy Noonan
"More facts surfacing about Sarah Palin's background every day. Sarah Palin's father says that they shoot 90 percent of the meat their family eats. The other 10 percent they hit with their pick-up truck." -- Conan O'Brien
"It's funny. The left has been whining about having their patriotism questioned for so long it feels like they started griping in the Mesozoic era. Feminists have argued for decades that womanhood is an existential and metaphysical state of enlightenment. But they have no problem questioning whether women they hate are really women at all." -- Jonah Goldberg
"Barack Obama was asked if he wished Hillary Clinton was his running mate in the wake of the Sarah Palin mania. He should have passed up Hillary for another woman. Bill Clinton did that all the time and enjoyed eight years in the White House." -- Argus Hamilton
"As you know, McCain... is a true American war hero. And today, a new video was released of John McCain being tortured by his captors. I want to warn you, this is very disturbing [on screen: McCain on "The View"]." -- Jay Leno
"Barack Obama has made an intelligent choice for the vice-presidency. How so very different this is from that bucket of fluff that the Republican candidates have chosen for the same position." -- Obama supporter Barbara Theaker introducing Joe Biden at a rally
web posted September 15, 2008
"If [Osama] bin Laden had been killed in Afghanistan in 2001, the United States would be combating a myth and a legend. Instead of caliphate, bin Laden has produced his own catastrophe. The bin Laden icon is seriously fractured, if not quite shattered." -- Austin Bay
"The Republican ticket has it in the right order. We have the much more experienced candidate first. We have the younger, new generation candidate second. They have a candidate with no experience first, and they have the older-generation candidate second." -- Rudy Giuliani
"No governor ever had foreign policy experience before becoming president -- not Ronald Reagan, not Franklin D. Roosevelt, nor any other governor. It is hard to know how many people could possibly have had foreign policy experience before reaching the White House besides a Secretary of State or a Secretary of Defense." -- Thomas Sowell
"Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, see America as a nation in which government plays a primary role in individual lives. John McCain and Sarah Palin see the individual as primary and government as a protector of freedom that can help the less fortunate become self-sustaining." -- Cal Thomas
"In short, Sarah Palin is the emblem of what feminism was supposed to be all about: an unafraid, independent, audacious woman, who soared on her own merits without the aid of a patriarchal jumpstart, high-brow matrimonial tutelage and capital, and old-boy liaisons and networking." -- Victor Davis Hanson
"As many as an estimated nine out of 10 children with Down syndrome are aborted in the womb, sought out by increasingly sophisticated prenatal tests and eliminated as too flawed, too burdensome, too different to live. This is the ugly eugenic underbelly of American life, even as we congratulate ourselves on our tolerance and diversity." -- Rich Lowry
"You're smiling about it, but some of your supporters were listening and they heard subtle racial code." -- ABC's George Stephanopoulos to Obama about criticism of his being a "community organizer" at the Republican convention
"And finally, Steve, a lot of press bashing at the convention. We are suddenly the enemy. Why is that?" -- NBC's Meredith Vieira to McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt
"I don't think most of the news media -- the major news networks, CNN -- are biased in favor of one party or the other. There are certain kinds of stories we like. Say, you know, pregnant people. But we don't, I don't think there is a lot of sort of bias in favor of one party or the other." -- CNN'S Jeffrey Toobin
"If you've got a gun in your house, I'm not taking it. Even if I want to take them away, I don't have the votes in Congress." -- Barack Obama, who thinks the only thing between him and your guns is a few votes
"Let's not play games... You're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith... uh, my Christian faith. Well, what I'm saying is that he hasn't suggested that I'm a Muslim... What I think is fair to say is that, coming out of the Republican camp, there have been efforts to suggest that perhaps I'm not who I say I am when it comes to my faith -- something which I find deeply offensive, and that has been going on for a pretty long time." -- Barack Obama demonstrating that he's as confused about his religious faith as everybody else is
"Global warming is a serious problem. Uh, i-it's not just some tree hugger, you know, uhhh, sprout eatin' liberal thing. You know, the polar ice caps are melting. Temperatures are getting warmer in the oceans, and it could wreck [sic] havoc on our agriculture. It could increase insect-borne diseases." -- Barack Obama
"[Sarah] Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton." -- Gloria Steinem
"When I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate [Barack Obama], I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates." -- Oprah Winfrey explaining why she will not bring on Sarah Palin for an interview, but did have Barack Obama on before he was "officially" a candidate
"If at times, it is not easy to determine what a liberal is, it's because during presidential election campaigns, politicians who have been voting like liberals, talking like liberals and boasting about their liberal credentials, suddenly insist that they're really centrists." -- Burt Prelutsky
"Dismiss if you will the rapturous response to Ms. Palin's speech by the delegates in the convention hall and the posters on conservative blogs. The best testament to its power was the lame response of the Obama campaign. They noted she had the help of a speechwriter... in preparing her remarks. Well, duh. Every major political figure has speechwriters." -- Jack Kelly
"Barack Obama, a famous fan of pickup basketball, must recognize his plight: It's two on one now. John McCain drafted Gov. Sarah Palin, the star point guard from the Wasilla Warriors, to double-team Obama. (McCain's team doesn't care if no one covers Joe Biden, who seems to spend most of his time yelling to the media, ‘I'm open! I'm open!' But when he gets the ball, all he does is talk about what a great player he is and dribble in place.)" -- Jonah Goldberg
"While addressing the [GOP convention], Sarah Palin criticized Barack Obama for not having enough ‘specifics.' Obama was reportedly angry about the claim, but didn't say exactly why." -- Conan O'Brien
"You've got to admit Sarah Palin really has energized the Republican base. See, Sarah Palin can do what John McCain can't do -- send an e-mail. ... Sarah Palin's glasses have become a hot item. Those Joe Biden hair plugs? Not so much. They can't give those away." -- Jay Leno
web posted September 8, 2008
"This is my sixth Republican National Convention, and I've never seen anything remotely like the excitement Palin has unleashed. Some compare it to the enthusiasm for Ronald Reagan in 1976 or 1980. Even among the cynics and nervous strategists, there's a kind of giddiness over John McCain's tactical daring in selecting the little-known Alaskan." -- Jonah Goldberg
"There are, recall, no Constitutional qualifications to occupy the presidency other than being 35 years of age and a native-born American." -- John Podhoretz
"If a 44-year-old Alaskan governor lacks experience to be vice president, what does that deficiency say about the credentials of the a 47-year-old sometime community organizer in Chicago and one-term U.S. senator to actually lead the nation and, by inference, much of the world? Nothing very hopeful, is what it says." -- William Murchison
"Barack Obama['s]... economic program is based on the assumption that the economy is to the president what a marionette is to a puppeteer, requiring his direction and responding to his every wish." -- Steve Chapman
"Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they are not going to tax your family. No, they're just going to tax ‘businesses.' So unless you buy something from a ‘business,' like groceries or clothes or gasoline... or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small ‘business,' don't worry... it's not going to affect you. They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the ‘other' side of the bucket! That's their idea of tax reform." -- Fred Thompson
"The more Congress does, the less Americans prosper. Freedom, not legislation and regulation, is what powers the U.S. economy. The old political wisdom is a sound investment guideline, too: That government is best that governs least." -- Jeff Jacoby
"[Sarah Palin is] the youngest governor ever in Alaska's history, and she's the first woman. She's only been in office for a couple of years now, which really raises the experience issue here. Now, of course, Republicans have been raising the experience issue about Senator Obama... Now, she is a manager. She is the governor of a state. She does have limited experience, though. She's also been the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. And for a time she was the ethics chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. But that does not add up to broad experience." -- CNN's John Roberts
"Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like John Adams. I mean, it's just, it's no contest." -- Newsweek's Howard Fineman on Palin's experience versus Obama's
"It's important to point out, as we have not so far, Barack Obama was not given this nomination, he won it. He was not offered a nice title like Secretary of State, like Condoleezza Rice got from the Republicans. He was not offered the title of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs as Colin Powell was... He won the nomination of a Democratic Party voting together... He is not some popular appointment or a showcase appointment." -- MSBNC's Chris Matthews
"We may be seeing the first woman president. As a Democrat, I am reeling... That was the best political speech I have ever seen delivered by an American woman politician. Palin is as tough as nails." -- Camille Paglia on Palin's speech in Dayton
"Well, you know, my understanding is that, uh, Governor Palin's town of Wasilly [sic] has, uh, 50 employees, uh, uh, we've got 2,500, uh, in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. Uh, uh, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. Uh, so I think that, uh, our ability to manage large systems, uh, and to, uh, execute, uh, I think has been made clear over the last couple of years. Uh, and certainly, in terms of, uh, the legislation that I've passed just dealing with this issue post-Katrina, uh, of how we handle emergency management. The fact that, uh, many of my recommendations were adopted and are being put in place, uh, as we speak indicates the extent to which we can provide the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect." -- Barack Obama
"That's the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation, the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper." -- Barack Obama, who's half-brother George lived in a hut in Kenya on $1 per month
"The hurricane's going to hit New Orleans about the time [Republicans] start [their convention]. [Chuckle] The timing is -- at least it appears now that it'll be there Monday. That just demonstrates that God's on our side. [Laughter]... Everything's cool." -- former DNC chief Don Fowler, who later "apologized" adding this: "One doesn't anticipate that one's private conversation will be surreptitiously recorded by some right-wing nutcase."
"I think that John McCain is milking every possible drop of advantage from that unfortunate experience in his early military life." -- Jimmy Carter on McCain's five-year-long torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese
"This ordinary boy [Obama] just might be the first president in the history of the United States to have a black woman sleeping at 1600 Pennsylvania legally." -- Jeremiah Wright referring to Michelle Obama
"Not only is [Sarah Palin] young, they're saying she's the prettiest candidate for vice president since John Edwards." -- Jimmy Kimmel
"The famous Greek amphitheatre didn't look all Alexander the Great if you were [at the Democrat convention]. It looked instead like the big front display window at Macy's during Presidents Day Sales Weekend. You expected to see ‘Sofas 40% off!' in a running line on the bottom of the screen." -- Peggy Noonan
"The U.S. economy -- yes, that economy -- grew at a 3.3 percent annual rate last quarter. This no doubt caused consternation at the highest levels of the Democratic Party, perhaps forcing some to consider a new convention film at the last minute: ‘Dude, Where's My Recession?'... The bad news for the throngs in Denver is that Americans aren't as miserable as the Democrats need them to be." -- Jonah Goldberg
"The Obama campaign was not built for substance, only speed. There was no attempt [in Denver]... to deal with national security, worldwide terrorism or how to do the actual hard work of putting race behind us. It was all hot dogs, cotton candy, bellywash, booing Bush and shouting ‘hurrah for the American Idol.' Two more months of that and we'll all want change." -- Wesley Pruden
"If Obama is Hope, God save us from Despair." -- Mac Johnson
"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is John McCain's choice. Here's what we know about her: her name is Sarah Palin. ... Actually, it was kind of a smart choice. McCain went with a woman because he didn't want to have to be in a position to have to get CPR from Mitt Romney. ... Palin and McCain are a good pair. She's pro-life and he's clinging to life." -- Jay Leno
"I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God." -- John McCain
"Bloom where you're planted. If you bloom where you are planted, beautiful, unexpected things can happen. This is the story of Gov. Sarah Palin. What makes her absolutely appealing to ordinary citizens across the country -- both young and old -- is that she didn't go looking for greatness somewhere ‘out there.' Instead, she sought to make a difference in the lives of the people along her path -- and in so doing, greatness found her. May Sarah Palin's story remind all of us that God honors those who love and serve others. May her success inspire us to look first in our own neighborhoods for opportunities to change the world." -- Rebecca Hagelin