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The good and the bad...

web posted July 26, 2004

"Moral relativism is the end of morality, period." -- Michael Novak

"Respect for the original intent of the Constitution is low in Washington. It's so low, it's virtually non-existent." -- Rep. Ron Paul

"Some of us are on record as dismissing [Joseph] Wilson in the first bloom of his unmerited celebrity. But John Kerry was taken in -- to the point where he signed him up as an adviser and underwrote his Web site. What does that reveal about Mister Nuance and his superb judgment?" -- Mark Steyn

"I cannot be the only person on the planet Earth who thinks the people who labor in the shadows, trying to protect our safety and, in some cases, dying to protect our nation should be honored and cheered, not held up to scorn and ridicule as we have seen these past few weeks by the Edwards/Kerry ticket and the Michael Moore Liberals who support it." -- Rich Galen

"We're more interested in catching terrorists who are trying to kill Americans than we are in leaving the Capitol in time for happy hour." -- Stuart Roy, Spokesman for Tom DeLay (R-Texas) on why the House held open the vote on whether to modify parts of the Patriot Act for an extra 23 minutes

"[The Republicans hand out money] based on who will vote for us or for our party. In effect, we buy votes. We fund programs that don't work. We tolerate abuse and cheating in the multiples of billions of dollars." -- Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney

"If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers'...if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men." -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Democrat lawmakers

"Girlie men! Can there be anything worse? Immediately, liberals in California were up in arms, accusing the Governator of being blatantly homophobic, and insulting to women and [homosexuals]. Poor babies...they're offended. Too bad... Somehow I don't think Arnold gives a rip." -- Neal Boortz

"In short, my friends, Vice President Cheney is not just another pretty face." -- Arizona Sen. John McCain

"Those two [John Kerry and John Edwards] cannot keep their hands off each other, can they? I think I have a new idea for a new campaign slogan -- use the bumper sticker 'Hey, Get a Room'." -- Dennis Miller

"I'm looking forward to Dean's address at the Democrat Convention. ... Rumor has it he'll end with a squeal so high-pitched only dogs will be able to hear it." -- Ann Coulter

"I see by the papers that the meddlesome federal government has decided that obesity is a disease. If it is, I have already discovered a cure. It's called EAT LESS." -- Lyn Nofziger

"An editor at The New York Times supports Kerry? Isn't the Times supposed to be unbiased? Wow, this really changes our whole outlook on American journalism." --James Taranto

"Bill Clinton will address the Democrat Convention, and television networks are nervous. He's never brief. Last week Bill Clinton's memoir fell off a bookstore shelf in Beverly Hills, killing three people and wounding six others." -- Argus Hamilton

"John Kerry talked about how there were two Americas. He said he knew there were two Americas because every night he has to drive through one America on his way home to his America." -- Jay Leno

"In the short run we will use every asset to prevent an enemy from attacking us again. Which I believe they [Islamist terrorists] want to do. I believe they want ... to spread their Taliban-like vision. ... The long-run solution to terror is freedom. ... We believe that everybody yearns to be free. We believe everybody can be free. Now I'm getting people to research all the statements of doubt about whether or not Japan could be free after World War II. And I suspect we'll find there was quite a bit of cynicism, and people were just flat dubious that people in the Far East -- who had a religion that was foreign to most Americans -- could conceivably self-govern in a democratic style. Thank goodness the optimists ruled the day...." -- U.S. President George W. Bush

"In the course of reviewing over several days thousands of pages of documents on behalf of the Clinton administration in connection with requests by the Sept. 11 commission, I inadvertently took a few documents from the Archives. When I was informed by the Archives that there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had except for a few documents that I apparently had accidentally discarded." -- Sandy Berger, former NSA head

"If [Condoleezza] Rice had been caught stuffing her blouse with highly classified handwritten notes from the days after 9/11, what would be going on in DC right now?" -- Hugh Hewitt

web posted July 19, 2004

"If the president is embarrassed to be seen with conservatives at the [Republican] convention, maybe conservatives will be embarrassed to be seen with the president on Election Day." -- Paul Weyrich

"When the only Reagan Republican to enjoy a prominent supporting role at the party's convention is a Democrat [Zell Miller], the G.O.P. has a serious identity problem." -- Kate O'Beirne, National Review

"[I]f intelligence mistakes are inevitable, is it better to worry too much about potential threats or to worry too little? Worrying too much -- if that's what happened -- resulted in the toppling of one of the planet's most murderous tyrants. Worrying too little resulted in 9/11." -- Jeff Jacoby

"Education achievement was better when it was practiced in the little red schoolhouse and didn't come as it does today from the big White House and its Cabinet agencies. The billions wasted on education since Lyndon Johnson's Great Society has been a financial and educational disaster, not to mention a violation of the Constitution." -- Cal Thomas

"If the American administration changes in November, it will be catastrophic, because those Democrats do not understand a thing about foreign policy...." -- Sheik Saud Al Nasser Al Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the U.S. when Bush 41 was in office

"Many of those in the media, and among the intelligentsia in general, see themselves as citizens of the world, and they see the United States as just the country that happens to be lucky enough to be graced by their presence." -- Thomas Sowell

"They have offered to brief me. I just haven't had time." -- John Kerry, hours before a rock concert fundraiser, on not being briefed on national security issues lately

"The committee interviewed over 200 individuals from the intelligence community. They could find no one out of that entire group that indicated they felt pressure directed by the administration with respect to the kind of intelligence they should produce." -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney

"Why are you still [whining] about right-wing author Ann Coulter? Sure, she's crazy as a loon, but she's got more [stuff] than the entire Democratic [sic] Leadership Council. You're just jealous because we don't have an Ann Coulter. And stop looking at her...legs!" -- Michael Moore

"What is so amazing about Edwards' father being a millworker? That's at least an honorable occupation -- as opposed to being a trial lawyer. True, Edwards made more money than his father did. I assume strippers make more money than their alcoholic fathers who abandoned them did, too." -- Ann Coulter

"There's no such thing as a charisma transplant." -- Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) on claims that adding John Edwards to the Democrat ticket will help make up for John Kerry's lack of energy and excitement

"Senator Kerry is rated as the most liberal member of the United States Senate. And he chose a fellow lawyer who is the fourth most liberal member of the United States Senate. Now, in Massachusetts, that's what they call balancing the ticket." -- U.S President George W. Bush

"Actually John Edwards was 15 when John Kerry got back from Vietnam, but yes, he was in diapers." -- Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert

"John Kerry probably lost untold numbers of votes when he announced he and his new running mate John Edwards have 'better hair' than their opponents... If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a vain man.... America needs a manly President and vice president, not two metrosexuals." --Bernadette Malone

"Note that none of the 'finalists' [on John Kerry's veep list] were women nor people of color. Edwards happens to be a White, Southern male. Where's the diversity in that?" -- Rich Galen

"Between Mr. Kerry's expensive haircuts and Mr. Edwards' hair-sprayed bangs, my guess is no presidential ticket in the history of the planet has cared so much about personal grooming. When the ticketmates travel together, there will probably be stiff competition for the mirror and hair products." -- Rich Lowry

"Bill Clinton's book has already sold more than 600,000 copies. All of them to women who want to see if their name is mentioned." -- Craig Kilborn

"Because of the tough presidential primary last year, there was talk that there might be a personality conflict between Kerry and Edwards. Thankfully, Kerry doesn't have a personality, so that won't be a problem." -- Jay Leno

web posted July 12, 2004

"Liberty, freedom, and self-determination. Those goals are as worthy of our attention today as they were 228 years ago in a hot convention hall in Philadelphia. Just as devotion to those goals brought forth this great nation then, a renewed adherence to liberty can save our nation today. Our Founding Fathers felt freedom was worth their 'lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.' Do we?" -- Ron Paul

"This court seems incapable of admitting that some matters -- any matters -- are none of its business." -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

"I believe very strongly that Saddam had relations with al-Qaeda." -- Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi responding to a "correction" by Tom Brokaw regarding the 9/11 Commission's "findings"

"If Dems want honest elections, why did a Soros-backed group hire criminals to get out the vote?" -- John Fund

"A generation ago, there was not near the amount of sex, violence and profanity on television and in movies that there is today. But I still remember how my parents dealt with it. They would get up and turn the television off." -- Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)

"My friends, we are the good guys in this fight. The bad guys chop off the heads of the prisoners they take, and send the videotapes to the deceased's relatives. If Peter Jennings can come up with any examples of where we've done that, then maybe I'll join him worrying about how we're abusing detainees' rights." -- Jay Bryant

"One thing is for sure: the extremists have faith in our weakness. And the weaker we are, the more they will come after us." -- Tony Blair

"The War on Terror will not be won until America is united. And as long as Democrats target the Bush administration -- not the terrorists -- as the enemy, we are in trouble." -- Oliver North

"Republicans control the House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the White House. The only thing Republicans cannot control is spending." -- Rep. Charlie Stenholm, (D-Texas)

"Stop listening to celebrities. They do what they do for money -- that's all. I don't even know why you're listening to me. I've done commercials for both Coke and Pepsi. Truth is, I can't even taste the difference, but Pepsi paid me last, so there it is." -- Dave Chappelle

"The only way we've come up with to distinguish [between Saddam Hussein and Michael Moore] is that Saddam is the thin one." -- James Taranto

"I can understand the point of being Michael Moore: There's a lot of money in it. What's harder to figure out is the point of being a devoted follower of Michael Moore." -- Mark Steyn

"Simply put, if Kerry really thought the war on terror was as big a deal as Bush does, there's no way he would pick John Edwards. Edwards is simply not qualified to be one heartbeat from the presidency.... Indeed, during the primaries even Kerry asked his aides about Edwards, 'What makes him think he can be president?'" -- Jonah Goldberg

"By choosing John Edwards over Dick Gephardt, the Democrats today transferred power in their party from the labor unions to the trial lawyers." -- Grover Norquist

"I guess with John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate, he really does want to stand up for all Americans, from those worth only $60 million to those worth in excess of $800 million." -- Ann Coulter

"It solidifies the fact that John Kerry is a liberal. ...[It] really solidifies the fact that this is the most liberal ticket that the Democrats have put up for, basically, modern times. If you look at the voting records of those two guys, they are way out there in left field." -- Jeb Bush

"Why would new countries join the U.S.-led coalition [under a 'President' Kerry] when Kerry and other Democrats fail to recognize the sacrifices already made by the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Spain and other countries that sent troops -- when the party dismisses Bush's coalition as 'unilateral'?" -- Debra Saunders

"Ralph Nader [recently] named his running mate. It's Green Party activist Peter Camejo. Camejo is actually a Spanish word that means 'no votes'!" -- Jay Leno

web posted July 5, 2004

"The courage of our military has brought us to this hopeful day [of Iraqi sovereignty], and the continued service of our military assures the success of our cause. In Iraq, we're serving the cause of liberty, and liberty is always worth fighting for." -- U.S. President George W. Bush

"France and the U.N. did not oppose Bush because they thought his policy was wrong. They opposed him because his policy would expose their illegal dealings and end the flow of Saddam's blood money." -- George Landrith

"In the 1990s, history produced the president perfectly suited to the time -- a time of domesticity, triviality and self-absorption.... What appalled me then...is the smallness of a man who granted equal valence to his own indulgences on the one hand and to the fate of nations on the other. It is the smallness that disturbs. It is that smallness that history will remember." -- Charles Krauthammer

"The man never had the character for the job." -- Jonah Goldberg on Bill Clinton

"The media continues to report that the Reagan 'family' is in favor of [embryonic] stem cell research, when the truth is that two members of the family have been longtime foes of this process of manufacturing human beings -- my dad, Ronald Reagan during his lifetime, and I." -- Michael Reagan

"Remember Sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr, the Khomeini-wannabe with the 10,000-strong Mahdi Army? He threw in the towel last week. And, of that 10,000, the 1st Armored Division estimates it killed 'at least several thousand.' You haven't heard about that on the network news? Well, there's a surprise." -- Mark Steyn

"Many of you are well enough off that...the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, channeling Karl Marx

"Al Gore is proving to be the most irrelevant comically absurd former vice president since Spiro Agnew. This blustering 'Saturday Night Live' caricature is no longer a serious political figure.... Sean Hannity appropriately called for a moment of prayer in the opening of his radio show...to thank God Al Gore isn't running the country."-- Barbara Comstock

"It seems that many journalists are so invested in the story line that 'BUSH LIED!!!! about WMDs' that they wouldn't acknowledge otherwise if they themselves were gassed." -- James Taranto

"There was an awkward moment at a Democratic fundraiser the other night. When they handed John Kerry a $10 million dollar check, he said, 'I do'." -- Craig Kilborn

"On the news...they interviewed Clinton's editor. Editor? The book is 957 pages long! What the [heck] did he edit? .... The book is huge. And actually, it folds out into a bed." -- Jay Leno

web posted June 28, 2004

"Ronald Reagan's final sunset service included a perfect Golden State sunset. Yes, Hollywood could have scripted this...but only God could have pulled it off." -- Chuck Muth

"This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda. We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda." -- U.S. President George W. Bush

"Long before I took my current job, I had the good fortune to work with other presidents I greatly admire. Along the way, I learned a few things about the presidency, and the kind of person it takes to do that job well. It takes the finest qualities of character: conviction, personal integrity, good judgment, compassion, and courage in times of testing for the nation. And, ladies and gentlemen, we have all of those qualities and more in President George W. Bush. I count it a privilege to serve with a president who has united our nation behind great goals -- and brought honor and integrity to the White House." -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney

"It would be a mistake... to think John Kerry has no principles or agenda. He just does not have any that he would dare reveal in an election year... It is hard to believe there is much room on the political spectrum to the left of Ted Kennedy. But Mr. Kerry has found it. Now he has to hide it before the voters find out." -- Thomas Sowell

"I don't think it's bothersome to people that John Kerry thinks he's very smart. That's fine. I think what's bothersome is he thinks the rest of us are stupid." -- RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie

"Clinton actually compares his battle against impeachment to civil rights struggles in the South. Haven't blacks been insulted enough by the constant comparison between gay marriage and black civil rights without this horny hick comparing his impeachment to Selma? ... If we're so obsessed with [the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy], why do they keep bringing it up? OK, uncle. You win, Mr. President. If I buy a copy of your book, will you just shut up once and for all, go away, and never come back?" -- Ann Coulter

"It will not surprise you to find out that things are better in Iraq -- for IRAQIs -- than the popular press generally portrays. ... [T]here are 26 million Iraqis. Most of them do not live in Fallujah or Najaf or Karbalah. Most of them are sending their kids to school, going to work, starting or operating businesses and generally doing what civilized people do everywhere in the civilized world." -- Rich Galen

"Freedom is a lonely battle, but if the United States doesn't lead it -- sometimes imperfectly, but mostly with honor -- who will?" -- Cal Thomas

"Kerry was right to say kind words about Reagan on the day of his death. But they shouldn't obscure what Kerry said about Reagan during his life." --  Katherine Mangu-Ward

"There is a right way to defeat radical Islamists and the states' that harbor them -- Bush's way -- and a wrong way, the Kerry-Kennedy-Pelosi-U.N.-cut-and-run-Michael Moore fog." --Hugh Hewitt "Liberals like to complain that balanced reporting allows lies to sit side by side with the truth. But lies were exactly what they lined up against President Reagan as his mourners were still saying their emotional goodbyes." -- Brent Bozell

"Find the pro-lifers in a newsroom. That's harder than finding Waldo." -- David Yarnold, San Jose Mercury News op-ed page editor

"President Bush meets with Hungary's prime minister today to discuss Hungarian troops in Iraq. It's bad news for the Iraqi insurgents. The war is just about over if we've decided to bring in the descendants of Attila the Hun as consultants." -- Argus Hamilton

"[Clinton] claims he was banished to an actual couch in a living room next to their bedroom, for two months. Is that really true? In that summer of 1998, when he was lobbing cruise missiles at abandoned Osama training camps in Afghanistan, the President was doing so on the basis of a couple of hours' tossing on the couch? If you say so. Today, of course, the Clintons are back sleeping together, even if only at the Reagan funeral." -- Mark Steyn

"President Bush got some good economic news today: over a million new jobs created in the past four months. That actually hurts John Kerry, because he's looking for a vice presidential running mate, and let's face it, that's usually someone who's unemployed and desperate." -- Jay Leno

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