Quotes of the Week: March 15, 2007

Thomas Sowell, Author, Newspaper Columnist and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow, On Perception, Reality and Support for the Troops:

"After generations of dumbed-down education in our schools, perhaps it is inevitable that there would be large numbers of people who have no way of separating rhetoric from reality.

"The reality is that many of those in the media and in politics who are constantly talking about 'supporting our troops' or 'honoring our troops' have for years been in the forefront of those criticizing or undermining the military, long before the Iraq war."

Andrew C. McCarthy, Legal Commentator, Terrorism Expert and Former Federal Prosecutor, Regarding the Firing of Eight U.S. Attorneys:

"So we have classic Washington farce. The politicians on Capitol Hill theatrically castigate the politicians in the administration for making political decisions about political appointees based on political considerations. The politicians in the administration reply, 'That would never happen,' before conceding that it precisely happened ... without their knowledge, of course. And the political press is aghast. Perfect."

Cal Thomas, Syndicated Columnist, Regarding Presidential Candidates and the 'Character Issue':

"While 'character issues' can overlap with other concerns when considering for whom to vote, conservative evangelicals are beginning to see them as less important than who can meet the multiple challenges faced by the nation. Put it this way: if you are about to have major surgery and your only choice was a church-going doctor with a high mortality rate, or an agnostic with a high success record, which would it be? I'd choose the agnostic."

Patrick Condon, Associated Press Reporter, on Global Warming's Deep Freeze:

"A North Pole expedition meant to bring attention to global warming was called off after one of the explorers got frostbite. The explorers, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, on Saturday called off what was intended to be a 530-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment."

Pat Toomey, President, Club for Growth, Regarding Senator John McCain's Uneven Record of Defending Individual Freedom:

"[H]is vigorous opposition to the most pro-growth tax cuts in 20 years, and his outspoken pursuit of anti-growth and anti-free market policies in the realms of regulation, entitlement reform and campaign finance reveal a philosophical ambivalence, if not hostility, toward limited government and personal freedom."

The Editors, Washington Post, Regarding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Plan for Iraq:

"Ms. Pelosi's strategy leads not toward a responsible withdrawal from Iraq but to a constitutional power struggle with Mr. Bush, who has already said he will veto the legislation. Such a struggle would serve the interests of neither the Democrats nor the country."

This Week On the Trail:

"I'm giving some thought to it, going to leave the door open... I wanted to see how my colleagues who are on the campaign trail do now, what they say, what they emphasize, what they're addressing, and how successful they are in doing that, and whether or not they can carry the ball in next November."

— Fred Thompson, Actor, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and U.S. Senator (R-TN), on Considering a Run for President in 2008

"I'm here today to announce that my family and I will make a decision on my political future later this year."

— Senator Charles Hagel (R-NE), at a National Press Conference, Omaha, Nebraska

"The 19th-century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a giant in the field of logic. The 21st-century philosopher Chuck Hagel? Not so much."

— Dana Milbank, Washington Post, on the National Press Conference Called by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to 'Announce' That He May or May Not 'Announce' Later This Year

"Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is skipping his fourth conservative gathering in two months, declining an invitation to speak at the Club for Growth's winter meeting despite his fellow 2008 hopefuls' commitments to appear.

"McCain raised eyebrows in Republican circles and among his own supporters last month by turning down a chance to address the Conservative Political Action Conference, which bills itself as the nation's largest conservative conference. McCain was also a no-show at the Heritage Foundation's members' retreat this year and at the National Review Institute's conservative summit."

— Elana Schor, The Hill, On Senator John McCain

"I'm in it to win it."

— Senator Hillary Clinton

"I know that Barack is in this not just to win ...This race is not about winning, because winning isn't enough nowadays. Winning without dignity, winning it without honor, winning without authenticity and truth is not winning at all, and we're not in it for that."

— Michelle Obama, Regarding Her Husband's Campaign for Democratic Nominee for President of the United States

"So if anybody tells you there is no vast right-wing conspiracy, tell them that New Hampshire has proven it in court."

— Senator Hillary Clinton, Regarding a 2002 Election Day Phone Jamming Case in New Hampshire Involving 3 GOP Operatives 

"A conspiracy of three is not exactly vast. It would be a stretch to call it half-vast."

— James Taranto, WSJ Online, Regarding Senator Clinton's Comments About the Case Involving 3 GOP Operatives in New Hampshire

QUOTES IN TIME:

"This is — the great story here for anybody willing to find it and write about it and explain it — is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president. A few journalists have kind of caught on to it and explained it. But it has not yet been fully revealed to the American public. And actually, you know, in a bizarre sort of way, this may do it."

— Then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Regarding the Lewinsky Affair, on the Today Show, January 27, 1998 (emphasis added)

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