backtop

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

May Day Labeling

"In Moscow, Soviet leader Gorbachev led government dignitaries atop Lenin's mausoleum to watch units parading in Red Square...In Havana...Cuban leader Fidel Castro's May Day parade...was also generally peaceful. But in Chile, a country ruled by military dictator Augusto Pinochet, demonstrators opposing his rule drew police, tear gas and other riot control measures."
-- World News Sunday anchor Sam Donaldson on May Day events, May 1.

The Economy

"I think we need to pay particular attention to the type of legislation, put before Congress, put there by people like Paul Simon calling for a guaranteed jobs program. We can't wait for creation of jobs in the private sector."
-- U. of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson during April 30 CBS Evening News interview.

"Unemployment in America in April was the lowest it's been in fourteen years, 5.4 percent. That, coupled with other encouraging signs in the economy, is obviously good news but, you guessed it, it may mean bad news in the form of higher inflation."
-- Tom Brokaw opening the NBC Nightly News, May 6.

"[It's] good news for Republicans running for office. But there are some worries. At least one fourth of the new jobs are part time only and 800,000 people are still looking for work after more than six months."
-- Reporter Sheilah Kast, ABC's World News Tonight.

"It wasn't good news for the GOP either. Reminding voters that inflation and interest rates were high under Jimmy Carter might ring hollow when the same thing could be happening today."
-- Reporter Jack Smith's This Week with David Brinkley introductory story, May 15.

"The latest unemployment figures promise to send shudders through the entire economy. As inflation rises, so too will interest rates. Wall Street analysts are worried that a recession is now unavoidable."
-- Notable Quotables made this one up.

Poland

"Ironically, these men and women are striking for the same thing Poland's leaders and Mikhail Gorbachev want: the restructuring of a bankrupt economic system."
-- CBS News reporter Bert Quint on reasons behind Solidarity's strikes, May 3.

Prime Time Comedy

"Science today is just a tool in the hands of the superpowers. All they want to do are build things like Star Wars and lasers and beam weapons in space...I have just come to the realization that those people out there are using me, using me for their evil ends. Well, I'm not going to have any part of it. I'm dropping science from this point on."
-- Physics whiz student "Dennis" on ABC's situation-comedy Head of the Class, May 4.

Donald Regan

"I don't give a damn about the right-to-lifers."
-- Nancy Reagan, quoted by Donald Regan, in his book For the Record.

"Hell hath no fury like a chief-of-staff scorned."
-- Bernard Kalb, on CNN's Crossfire, May 9.

"And listen, while you're laughing, a lot of people smarter than us go for this [astrology] stuff. And how does this differ from crossing yourself before a foul shot?"
-- Phil Donahue during show with Regan as guest, May 11.

Presidential Reading

"One of the differences between Reagan and the Vice-President emerged from those morning discussions: Reagan generally recited passages from the conservative Washington Times, while Bush usually quoted the New York Times. This is a big difference."
-- Don Regan on page 275.

"Reagan was an avid reader of the conservative monthly Human Events....I began to read this publication, which had not hitherto been on my required reading list."
-- Don Regan on the conservative weekly.

Ollie North

"Today I am out of work for the first time in a quarter of a century. I must say as I look at all the media gathered here in front of us, it's nice to see the attention they're paying to the plight of the unemployed."
-- Oliver North delivering Liberty University commencement, May 2.

"I don't believe we've got any badges or decorations that go with the fruit salad on your uniform. We don't have one for lying to Congress. We don't have one for altering documents."
-- U.S. Rep. Jack Brooks (D-TX) on the CBS Evening News.

Anti-U.S. Sentiments

"Why this sea of troubles? One reason is the old American tendency to ignore the Canadians, belittle the Mexicans, and invest in the armies of Central America. Another reason is that diplomacy has been replaced in recent years by sloganeering and belligerence. Instead of making deals with the Sandinistas, the President said he wanted them to cry uncle."
-- John Chancellor on why anti-U.S. feelings are on the increase. NBC Nightly News, May 3.

Nicaragua

Pat Buchanan: "What I want to know about you is why you are not as concerned about the freedom of Nicaraguans as you were about the freedom of Frenchmen?"
Tom Braden: "Because our civilization depended on winning World War II, and this is a tin-horn, chicken-shack country."
-- Exchange on CNN's Crossfire, May 2.

George Bush

"We've had triumphs, we've made mistakes, we've had sex...setbacks"
-- George Bush on what he and Ronald Reagan have been through, May 11.

-- L. Brent Bozell III; Publisher
-- Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham; Editors
-- Jim Heiser, Richard Marois, Patrick Swan, Dorothy Warner; Media Analysts
-- Cynthia Bulman; Administrative Assistant