Infamous quotes from politicians

[Luciana]

Some things would better be left unsaid... on a rainy Sunday, I kept trying to remember the most infamous political quotes from Brazilian politicians or pertaining to Brazil. Pure delight.


"This city is so beautiful and clean, it doesn't even seem we're in Africa"
President Lula, last month, showing his appreciation of Africa after having visited half a dozen countries.

"I prefer the smell of horses to the smell of people"
President Figueiredo, in the only interview he gave after his presidency was over.

"I'll arrest and destroy those who oppose it"
President Figueiredo, explaining how he was going to lead the redemocratization process.

"This is not a serious country"
General Charles de Gaulle, upon visiting Brazil in the 1960s. This quote has never been confirmed, but has been around for decades.

"I did it because I wanted to"
President Jânio Quadros, explaining why he renounced the presidency only four months after inauguration. He took the secret to his grave.


Would anyone add some more quotes, in honor for the "brilliance" of politicians worldwide? :D

[Chaos]

"Equal goes it loose."
Former German President Heinrich Lübcke, in an ill-fated attempt to translate "Gleich geht es los" - "It soon begins" word for word. His English skills (or lack of them) were infamous.

"Get me a bottle of beer, or I´ll go on strike."
German Chancellor Gerhardt Schröder, while giving autographs during a tour of eastern Germany, in summer. He didn´t know the journalists´ microphones were still turned on.

"We´re going to cut the budget by 10 percent. The Free Democrats don´t know how much ´10 percent´ is."
German Secretary of Economy Wolfgang Clement. The Free Democratic Party has, for living memory, persistently failed to come even close to 10 percent in national elections.

I´ll come up with more tomorrow.

[Iamme]

What a perfect opportunity for this:

'Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your country can do for you!' :13:

[shanek]

Here's a great one:

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." —Irving Fisher, 1929. Amazingly, people took his word over that of von Mises.

How are you for irony?

"I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law." —David Dinkins, New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.

When is saying it not saying it?

"He didn't say that. He was reading what was given to him in a speech." —Richard Darman, director of OMB, on George W. Bush's broken campaign promises.

Why drugs are bad:

"I was under medication when I made the decision not to burn the tapes." —President Richard Nixon

Sure, if you ignore all the bad stuff...

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country." —Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC

Actually, it's a great place except for all the people.

"The streets are safe in Philadelphia. It's only the people who make them unsafe." —Frank Rizzo, ex-police chief and mayor of Philadelphia.

Eh, those qualifications are overrated anyway...

"After finding no qualified candidates for the position of principal, the school board is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of David Steele to the post." —Philip Streifer, Superintendent of Schools, Barrington Rhode Island.

Guess he wants to downsize himself, huh?

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." —Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

Nothing like a good tautology:

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." —Dan Quayle

Not a direct quote, but it makes the piont:

"Al Gore has said that 'El Niño' is Spanish for 'Global Warming.' I think 'Al Gore' is Democrat for 'Dan Quayle.'" —Tim Slagle

An amazing, inspired conclusion:

"When large numbers of men are unable to find work, unemployment results." —Calvin Coolidge

He was the preincarnate of Yogi Berra:

"For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like." —Abraham Lincoln

Yeah, that whole dying thing can put a crimp in your day...

"Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God, I'm still alive.' But of course those who died, their lives will never be the same again." —Representative Barbara Boxer (D-California)

It's only a little corrupt...

"I'd just make a little bit of money, I wouldn't make a whole lot." —Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis defending himself against the charge that he would personally profit from a bill he had introduced.

And he had his fingers crossed, too:

"Well, there never was a Bible in the room." —Texas Governor Bill Clements, asked about repeatedly lying about the SMU football scandal.

Well, here's one honest statement at least:

"If you're sick and tired of the politics of cynicism and polls and principles, come and join this campaign." —George W. Bush, on the campaign trail in Hilton Head, S.C., Feb. 16, 2000

We know who wears the pants...

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president." —Hillary Clinton

Pocket change:

"A billion here, a billion there, sooner or later it adds up to real money." —Everett Dirksen

I'll grant him, it's kind of hard without it:

"The internet is a great way to get on the net." —Bob Dole

So THAT'S the problem:

"The police are not here to create disorder; they're here to preserve disorder." —Chicago mayor Daley

Where's the Bad Astronomer when you need him?

"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system." —Vice President Al Gore

Yes, this is the state of the US Government. Live in fear...

[Nyarlathotep]

Darn you Shanek, I saw this thread and several good ones popped into my mind. You beat me to every single one of them.

[WildCat]

Jeez, Dan Quayle is a smorgasbord of stupid quotes:

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."

"When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."

"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."

"We're going to have the best-educated American people in the world."

"The future will be better tomorrow."

"I have made good judgments in the Past. I have made good judgments in the Future."

"We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward."

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change."

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit... Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."

"Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts."

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."

"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people."

Oh, and Shanek - I believe this is also Quayle, not Gore:
"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."

[Paladin]

"Well, first of all, I'm not a military man. I'm just a person who's served in the United States armed forces for most of my adult life." -- General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander

[Yahweh]

A transcript from Infidels.org (http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/arguments.html#bush)
The following exchange took place at the Chicago airport between Robert I. Sherman of American Atheist Press (http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/media.html#aap) and George Bush, on August 27 1987. Sherman is a fully accredited reporter, and was present by invitation as a member of the press corps. The Republican presidential nominee was there to announce federal disaster relief for Illinois. The discussion turned to the presidential primary:
<blockquote>RS:
"What will you do to win the votes of Americans who are atheists?"

GB:
"I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me."

RS:
"Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?"

GB:
"No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

RS:
"Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?"

GB:
"Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists."</blockquote>

UPI reported on May 8, 1989, that various atheist organizations were still angry over the remarks.

The exchange appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera on Monday February 27, 1989. It can also be found in "Free Inquiry (http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/media.html#fi)" magazine, Fall 1988 issue, Volume 8, Number 4, page 16.

On October 29, 1988, Mr. Sherman had a confrontation with Ed Murnane, co-chairman of the Bush-Quayle '88 Illinois campaign. This concerned a lawsuit Mr. Sherman had filed to stop the Community Consolidated School District 21 (Chicago, Illinois) from forcing his first-grade atheist son to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States as "one nation under God" (Bush's phrase). The following conversation took place:

<blockquote>RS:
"American Atheists filed the Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit yesterday. Does the Bush campaign have an official response to this filing?"

EM:
"It's bulls**t."

RS:
"What is bulls**t?"

EM:
"Everything that American Atheists does, Rob, is bulls**t."

RS:
"Thank you for telling me what the official position of the Bush campaign is on this issue."

EM:
"You're welcome."</blockquote>

After Bush's election, American Atheists wrote to Bush asking him to retract his statement. On February 21st 1989, C. Boyden Gray, Counsel to the President, replied on White House stationery that Bush substantively stood by his original statement, and wrote:

<blockquote>"As you are aware, the President is a religious man who neither supports atheism nor believes that atheism should be unnecessarily encouraged or supported by the government."</blockquote>

For further information, contact American Atheist Veterans at the American Atheist Press's Cameron Road address. (http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/media.html#aap)

[Yahweh]

"As people do better, they start voting like Republicans...
...unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing."
-- Karl Rove, White House Advisor

"Listen, Al Gore is a very tough opponent. He is the incumbent. He represents the incumbency. And a challenger is somebody who generally comes from the pack and wins, if you're going to win. And that's where I'm coming from."
-- George W. "Dubya" Bush, Detroit, Sept. 7, 2000

"I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together."
-- George W. Bush, Bartlett, Tenn., Aug. 18, 2000

"And if he continues that, I'm going to tell the nation what I think about him as a human being and a person."
-- George W. Bush, the Today show, Aug. 1, 2000

George W. Bush's new Web site, www.georgewbush.com, states that the No. 3 priority of the campaign "Putting Education First."
-- George W. Bush, Washington Post, July 19, 2000

"The fundamental question is, 'Will I be a successful president when it comes to foreign policy?' I will be, but until I'm the president, it's going to be hard for me to verify that I think I'll be more effective."
-- George W. Bush, New York Times, June 28, 2000



This next quote is my personal favorite:

"At one of these governors' conferences, George [W. Bush] turns to me and says: 'What are they talking about?'
I said: 'I don't know.'
He said: 'You don't know anything, do you?'
And I said: 'Not one thing.'
Bush said: 'Neither do I.'
And we kind of high-fived."
-- Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico shares a verbal exchange that took place between him and George W. Bush. (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times, 5/31/00)


Bush: "First of all, Cinco de Mayo is not the independence day. That's dieciséis de Septiembre, and ..."
Matthews: "What's that in English?"
Bush: "Fifteenth of September."
(Dieciséis de Septiembre = Sept. 16)
— Hardball, MSNBC, May 31, 2000


"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."
-- George W. Bush, Reuters, May 5, 2000


Here's a whole is of Bushisms from 2000 to 2003: Bushisms - Adventures George W. Bushspeak (http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm)

And to end this post properly, a few miscellaneous Bush quotes:

'Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.'

'I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.'

'They misunderestimated me.'

'Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?'

[Richard G]

"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society."
-Hillary Clinton, 1993

" The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people"
--Bill Clinton, during an interview on MTV in 1993


"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans . . . ."
--William J. Clinton, USA Today, March 11, 1993



When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans, it was assumed that the Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly.... [However, now] there's a lot of irresponsibility. And so a lot of people say there's too much freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it."
Bill Clinton

"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."
--Janet Reno


"Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed."
--Sara Brady, Chairman, Handgun Control

"What good does it do to ban some guns. All guns should be banned."
--Sen. Howard Metzanbaum


If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees.
-Bill Clinton

You know the one thing that's wrong with this country? Everyone gets a chance to have their fair say.
-Bill Clinton

There is no reason for anyone in this country- anyone except a police officer or military person- to buy, to own, to have, to use a handgun. The only way to control handgun use in this country is to prohibit the guns.
-Bill Clinton


"If a President of the United States ever lied to the American people he should resign."
- Bill Clinton running for US Representative in 1974


"Our Police are hampered by the lack of full gun registration. We need to follow the lead of other civilized nations in securing our streets!"
Bill Clinton

[Jeff Corey]

"Ich bin ein Berliner."

[Nova Land]

It would be helpful (to me, at least) if people would indicate when providing quotes whether they are giving something that they have personally read or heard (in context, in a primary source) or if they are just repeating something that somebody else claims to have read or heard. In the latter case, I would appreciate being given the actual source of the alleged quote.

In other words: if you have read Thomas Jefferson's writings and found an interesting quote there, then by all means pass it along as being from Thomas Jefferson. If, instead, you are reading a book and the author says that Thomas Jefferson said something, and you don't have the time or energy to track the quote down for yourself to see if it (a) actually exists, and (b) means the same when read in context that it seems to mean when quoted on its own, then please tell me where you actually heard the alleged quote so I can check it out for myself.

There are a great many quotes, some even appearing in reputable academic books, that just ain't so. One reason this misinformation thrives is that too many people are willing to mis-speak as to their source.

It sounds more impressive to say "... as Thomas Jefferson said ..." than to say "... as I have been told that Thomas Jefferson said." But if one hasn't actually read Thomas Jefferson, then one shouldn't be giving people the impression that one has.

I appreciate the people who do qualify their statements when they are uncertain about what they are saying. For example, there are several people in this forum who, in their sig lines, give quotes they have heard and enjoyed and are careful to say "attributed to." This lets me know they are simply repeating something they liked the sound of. When people such as this quote something in their posts to bolster their arguments, I tend to give what they say more weight because I am inclined to believe they have actually read what they are talking about. I feel reasonably confident when reading their posts that if they hadn't read the source they were referring to they would say so.

In contrast, there are people who quote confidently, but appear to me to simply be passing on quotes someone else has dug up. I tend to give less weight to these posts, since I can't be as confident they know what they are talking about.

Here are examples of a couple of the quotes provided in this thread that aroused my curiosity as to actual source. Originally posted by shanek

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." &mdash;Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.originally posted by Richard G

"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."
--Janet Reno

[Nova Land]

Originally posted by Richard G

"Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed."

--Sara Brady, Chairman, Handgun ControlHere is an even more striking example of a quote that I'd like to know the source of. I have trouble believing that Sara Brady is a socialist or interested in creating a socialist America, so I have to wonder if this is a quote by her or a quote attributed to her by political opponents.

Richard G, could you clarify this? If this is a genuine quote from Sara Brady, that is certainly something I want to know!

[Richard G]

"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."

I personaly heard, and saw Janet Reno say this before a Congressional Commitee on CSPAN. It was also reported December 10, 1993 by the Associated Press.

[KelvinG]

RichardG, you are way to obsessed with guns.

[Richard G]

Richard G, could you clarify this? If this is a genuine quote from Sara Brady, that is certainly something I want to know!

It appears to be accurate to the extent that National Educator ran the quote. The nature and accuracy of their source is a matter of some debate. However, neither Brady nor Metzenbaum appear to have denied the statement or accused the National Educator of libel.

[Richard G]

RichardG, you are way to obsessed with guns.

Not guns. Rights.

[DavidJames]

The Reno quote seems to be the "bigfoot" of the gun people. Googling about finds lots of sites with that quote but zero actual verifiable sources.

If it really was reported by the Associated Press and Reno really did say it on CPAN there will be independent verifications. Where are they?

[Nova Land]

Originally posted by Richard G

[Regarding an alleged quote from Janet Reno: "Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."]

I personaly heard, and saw Janet Reno say this before a Congressional Commitee on CSPAN. It was also reported December 10, 1993 by the Associated Press.
Thank you for clarifying the source on this somewhat. I'll try to look this one up for myself the next time I am able to get to a good library (which will be in about a week -- it's a 30 mile bike ride).

Do you recall the name of the committee she appeared before? That would be a help to me in locating a transcript of her testimony. However, even without that I should be able to find this by checking a major newspaper such as NY Times or Washington Post for December 10, 1993.

I tried to look this up online after seeing your post. Interestingly, I found it in a number of anti-gun-control sites, and they all (like you) cite "Associated Press". It may indeed be an AP story, and yet I would have expected to have seen at least one actual newspaper cited somewhere. My suspicion is that many of the people citing AP do not actually subscribe to the AP, and are passing on something they have been told -- copying each other's attribution.
[Regarding an alleged quote from Sara Brady: "Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed."]

It appears to be accurate to the extent that National Educator ran the quote. The nature and accuracy of their source is a matter of some debate.National Educator? Is that the newsletter of the NEA (National Education Association) or a different newsletter? In which issue is the quote supposed to appear?

I'm not sure if the Tech library carries National Educator, but will check. I will need the date of the issue in question in order to find the quote if they do carry it. Can you provide this?

You say that the National Educator's source for the alleged quotation is "a matter of some debate." So National Educator is not the original source. Who do they claim as their source? If National Educator is your actual source, you should be able to provide that information.

Since you did not already provide the date and page number where the quote is supposed to appear, would I be correct in assuming that you do not actually have a copy of the National Educator in which the quote appears, and are repeating information found in some other source?

[Chaos]

I´d also like to see some evidence for the Clinton quotes RichardG has brought.
Even if that was what he thought (which is far from proven), he was/is too skillful with words to say this so obviously and bluntly. This is Slick Willy, not Dumb Dubya!

And I wonder why RichardG replaced that Hitler quote that was last in his post with a Clinton quote to a similar effect.

[Cleopatra]

Prince Philip is a champion in infamous quotes :)

Do you still throw spears at each other?
-- (on meeting Aborigines in Australia)

How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them to pass test?
-- (Asking a driving instructor in Oban, Scotland)

You can't have been here that long, you haven't got a pot belly.
-- (as told to a Briton in Hungary)

And my favorite:

If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.
-- (as spoken at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting)

:roll:

Source (http://www.amusingquotes.com/h/p/Prince_Philip_1.htm)

[volant]

Originally posted by WildCat
"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people."

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/quayle.htm

[WildCat]

Originally posted by volant

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/quayle.htm
Oops, looks like the others are legit though. It sure sounds like something he'd say though!

[Cleon]

Originally posted by Richard G


It appears to be accurate to the extent that National Educator ran the quote. The nature and accuracy of their source is a matter of some debate. However, neither Brady nor Metzenbaum appear to have denied the statement or accused the National Educator of libel.

The funny part is that this is a direct quote of a web page on the subject--http://www.hkweaponsystems.com/cgi-bin/quote.pl?_disputed.

Another cite gives a somewhat more comprehensive analysis: http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcbogus_brady.html, with more information here (http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcbogus.html)

[WildCat]

Edited to remove double post.

[JamesM]

It's probably worth mentioning here that Voltaire never said "I wholly disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Evelyn Beatrice Hall said it, as an example of the sort of thing that Voltaire might have said.

[espritch]

My favorite quote from a politician:

"I have larceny in my blood." - John Jenrette

The former SC senator was caught on tape by the FBI durring the Abscam sting operation in 1978. His other claim to fame was that his wife later posed for Playboy.

[TillEulenspiegel]

Cut n paste Bushlexia.com

"We are making steadfast progress." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 9, 2003 more </english.htm>

BUSHLEXIA DOUBLE-DIP..."I recently met with the finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, was very impressed by his grasp of finances."—Washington, D.C., George W. Bush, May 29, 2003

"Oftentimes, we live in a processed world—you know, people focus on the process and not results."—Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003 more <english.htm>

"Israel has got responsibilities," Mr. Bush said. "Israel must deal with the settlements. Israel must make sure there's a continuous territory that Palestinians call home." (The White House, which late in the day produced a transcript of Mr. Bush's remarks, put the word "contiguous" in parentheses after "continuous," to indicate that "contiguous" was what Mr. Bush had meant.) --New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/04/international/middleeast/04PREX.html >, 06.04.03

"All up and down the different aspects of our society, we had meaningful discussions. Not only in the Cabinet Room, but prior to this and after this day, our secretaries, respective secretaries, will continue to interact to create the conditions necessary for prosperity to reign." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003

"We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in so doing, we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure."--George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, May 3, 2003

"I don't bring God into my life to—to, you know, kind of be a political person." --Interview with Tom Brokaw aboard Air Force One, April 24, 2003

"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order—order out of chaos. But we will."—-G. W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003 < >

"All of us need to step back and try to figure out how to make the U.N. work better as we head into the 21st century. Perhaps one way will be, if we use military force, in the post-Saddam Iraq the U.N. will definitely need to have a role. And that way it can begin to get its legs, legs of responsibility back." --Azores, March 16, 2003 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030316-3.html >

"I know there's a lot of young ladies who are growing up wondering whether or not they can be champs. And they see the championship teams from USC and University of Portland here, girls who worked hard to get to where they are, and they're wondering about the example they're setting. What is life choices about?" --Washington, D.C., Feb. 24, 2003 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030224-7.html >

"It is wonderful to be here at Harrison High. I'm honored to be in the presence of the principal, Donnie Griggers. I want to thank he and his staff -- (applause) -- he and his fine staff for putting up with the entourage." --Kennesaw, Georgia <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030220-2.html >, 02.20.03

"Now, we talked to Joan Hanover. She and her husband, George, were visiting with us. They are near retirement—retiring—in the process of retiring, meaning they're very smart, active, capable people who are retirement age and are retiring."—Alexandria, Va., Feb. 12, 2003.

"I want to thank members of my administration who are here who will be involved in the implementation of some of the initiatives that I've outlined to the United States Congress. The Secretary of Education is here, Rod Paige, behind me. John Ashcroft is here... And, most importantly, Alma Powell <http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9604/11/alma/index.shtml >, secretary of Colin Powell, is with us." --White House <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030130-13.html >, 01.30.03

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."—Grand Rapids, Mich. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030129-4.html >, Jan. 29, 2003

Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein or his sons or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is don't follow that order," Bush said. "If you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal." —St. Louis, Mo. <http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2090959 >, Jan. 22, 2003

"It's money that -- that will recognize that power is best when it's disbursed to the people we're trying to help." —Washington, D.C. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030114-6.html >, Jan. 14, 2003

"Perhaps the biggest problem is that we have passed children from grade to grade, year after year, and those -- child hadn't learned the basics of reading and math." —Washington, D.C. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030108-4.html >, Jan. 8, 2003

"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end." - —Washington, D.C. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030108-4.html >, Jan. 8, 2003

"I think the American people—I hope the American—I don't think, let me—I hope the American people trust me." -—Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2002

"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like." —Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002

The law I sign today directs new funds and new focus to the task of collecting vital intelligence on terrorist threats and on weapons of mass production." --George W. Bush, White House <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/11/20021127-1.html >, Nov. 27, 2002

Bush Praises Wellstone's Conviction
By The Associated Press <http://www.austin360.com/aas/news/ap/ap_story.html/Washington/AP.V7205.AP-Wellstone-Bush.html>, Friday, October 24, 3:36 PM
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A17663-2002Oct25&notFound=true>--"President Bush called Sen. Paul Wellstone 'a plainspoken fellow' who did his best for Minnesota and the United States. 'I would like to express my deep condolences for the loss of the Senate,' Bush said shortly after hearing of Wellstone's death Friday. 'And also, I would like to express my condolences to the bereaved family.'"

"I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will." --George W. Bush, Oct. 5, 2002, Re Iraq debate in Congress White House Transcript <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021005-6.html >

"There's an old...saying in Tennessee...I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says Fool me once...(3 second pause)... Shame on...(4 second pause)...Shame on you....(6 second pause)...Fool me...Can't get fooled again." --George W. Bush to Nashville, Tennessee audience, Sept. 17, 2002, MSNBC-TV --Politex, Sept. 17, 2002, 10 PM
to hear bush mangle that "old texas saying" click here <ourfearlessleader.mp3>.

"Did you catch Dubya calling Saddam a "homocidal maniac" on TV today? Long "o," "homocidal"! --Jay, Sept. 16, 2002

I just heard Bu$h in his Iowa speech about 'growing the economy' explaining how, if we give more tax money back to busnessmen, that allows them in his words: "to produce a 'gooder' service." He said this three times, so I am sure of what I just heard. I am sure he meant 'produce a "better" service.' Where the heck did he learn english? --Steve Marshall, Sept. 16, 2002
Actually, Steve, Bush is slurring "good or service." He tried to correct this speech problem last week, and the discouraging results are reported below. --Politex

""When they demand or good a service in our society, somebody is more likely to produce it." --George W. Bush, Indiana, circa Sept. 5, 2002. WP <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58985-2002Sep9.html >, Sept. 10, 2002

"There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons." --George W. Bush, South Bend, Indiana, Sept. 5, 2002. Official White House Site <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020905-7.html >

end paste

[Nova Land]

Originally posted by Cleon

Another cite gives a somewhat more comprehensive analysis: http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcbogus_brady.html
Thank you.

The site Cleon provides, besides providing some good analysis, links to a site that displays page 3 of the January 1994 issue of National Educator (http://usa-patriot.net/pics/ne3.jpg), From this reproduction, it seems clear this is NOT the newsletter put out by the NEA. This appears instead to be an obscure right-wing newsletter.

The newsletter "quotes" Sara Brady and claims the alleged quote is from a letter she wrote to Howard Metzenbaum. No information is given as to why they believe this to be so.

Just as it appears to me that Richard G is simply repeating something he has been told (with no personal knowledge whether it is true or not), so it appears to me that the National Educator is simply repeating something it has been told (with no actual knowledge of whether it is true).

For those who desire the spread of misinformation, quoting that way is a good way to go. For skeptics, it would seem useful to practice (and to encourage others to practice) providing the actual source of one's information.

"Rush Limbaugh, as quoted in an NOW fund-raising letter."
"Bill Clinton, according to some radio preacher I was listening to."
"Chief Seattle, like it said on this bumper sticker I saw."

Is that really so hard to do?

Back to Luciana's topic: One of my favorite stupid-politician-quotes is from Condoleeza Rice, appearing on a talk show that I tuned in. I don't recall and can't locate the exact quote, but she was responding to a question about false information Bush had used in a speech (about Iraq trying to buy yellowcake from Niger). Her defense? She maintained that somebody in the intelligence community may have known the information was bogus, but that everyone in the White House was totally ignorant of this because no one had told them it was false.

(Essentially, she was claiming that no one in the administration had thought to inquire closely about the reliability of a key piece of information relating to US national security, and that all the key players in the White House had remained badly misinformed all during the leadup to the war. Wow! Defending your boss from a charge of dishonesty by branding him and everyone around him as clueless. Not the kind of person I'd want defending me! But the interviewer -- Russert, as I recall -- largely gave her a pass on it.)

[Luciana]

Wow, great examples! You know what, I've googled endless combinations to see if I could find a page with collections of infamous quotes from Brazilian politicians. Found none. I'd have to read info about every president or prominent politician in order to compile the best ones. I always thought our politicians deserved more than that. :D

Nova Land: Condoleeza's spin doctoring is not stupid - what else could she do, say that Bush had used a false information deliberately? And you know what, I bet most people did not, like you, "get" what was behind what she was saying.

Actual source is the way to go. I had a few more but I can't verify them myself. The ones I quoted were from memory, but they had much impact in the press and are now part of the history books... unfortunately, they're 100% true, except maybe for de Gaulle's.

[Chupacabras]

Originally posted by Jeff Corey
"Ich bin ein Berliner."

That was JFK in Berlin. The crowd roared at this.

A local one: "Una vez más, Guaymas se cubre de Gloria".

"Once again, Guaymas is covered in Glory" - Major Vicente Pascual, upon accepting the donation of yet another fire machine by the Sister Cities Assoc.

[Nova Land]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery

Condoleeza's spin doctoring is not stupid - what else could she do, say that Bush had used a false information deliberately?Oooh! Ooooh! That calls to mind another of my favorite stupic-politician-quotes. This is, again, from memory, but widely reported at the time (and since) so I'm reasonably confident of it.

Jimmy Carter: "I will never lie to you."

(Good grief! The man was admitting to being either incapable or unwilling to do the job of president! He took a sound drubbing for this statement for years to come.)

As to whether Conid should have said Bush used false information deliberately -- of course she should have. Look at Oliver North. He boasted of lying, and it won him national acclaim. I don't know of a Republican who has ever done badly by proudly defending their right to lie. (Democrats have done badly, but that's because they're incompetent.)

Here's what Condi should have said:

"Of course he knew it was false, and of course he used it deliberately! That's because he's a gutsy, take-charge, do-whatever-it-takes-and-to-hell-with-what-the-polls-say kind of leader.

"For reasons of national security [which we are still not at liberty to divulge] it was imperative to win support for and go to war with Iraq without further delaying and ham-stringing by the United Nations and the US Congress.

"I am sure that the members of Congress who were thwarting our efforts to protect this nation were not willfully or deliberately supporting our enemies Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, and were merely acting out of ignorance and misguidedness. But we could not afford to take any chances when the lives of so many ordinary Americans were at stake.

"So, yes, President Bush lied in his speeches in order to win desperately-needed approval for this war, he lied to Congress, and he lied repeatedly. He lied in order to protect the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Americans and to protect our soldiers who are laying their lives on the line. He lied then and he will proudly continue to lie if it will save just one US soldier's life!

"Do you have any follow-up questions to ask that might endanger national security and put our troops' lives at risk, Mr. Russert, or would you like to move on to another topic?"

(Please note the importance of stressing that he was lying to Congress, not to the American public. A good politician knows you can almost never go wrong bashing Congress or the media.)

[WildCat]

Originally posted by Nova Land
Jimmy Carter: "I will never lie to you."

Jimmy Carter by Blue Mountain:
In the bicentennial summer of our faded glory land a bright new face appeared upon the scene.
Of an honest peanut farmer by the name of Jimmy Carter.
His eyes were set on every school boys dream.

Chorus: Well he said I'd never lie to you, and what's more he never did.
Though the times grew mighty tough, he never flipped his lid.
So shake the hand of the man, with a hand full of love.
The one and only Jimmy Carter.

There was joy thoughout the nation, at that great inauguration, the GOP stood shakin in their shoes.
Serenaded by Willie, and toasted by Billy, this president with honest peanut roots.

Repeat Chorus


I really liked Blue Mountain!

[WildCat]

Chicago's current Mayor Daley has a huge number of crazy, senseless ramblings but a google search failed to find a compilation. Maybe I'll have to start a blog of them.

[WildCat]

Originally posted by Chupacabras
fire machine
What's a fire machine?

[geni]

you've woken me 100 years too soon. Lord North (taken a bit out of context)

[Judith]

"We believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."
—Vice President Dick Cheney

"I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons."
—Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

http://slate.msn.com/id/2083532/

[Segnosaur]

"A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven."

- Jean Cretien (Canadian prime minister, prior to the invasion of Iraq.)

[Judith]

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
- Donald Rumsfeld

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031201/80/efbou.html

[TillEulenspiegel]

Originally posted by Judith
"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
- Donald Rumsfeld

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031201/80/efbou.html

Damn that's great. Rumsfeld is no dummy by any means. If Willy was slick the guy is teflon.

As they say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush I say we give bush theeee bird.

[Chupacabras]

Originally posted by WildCat
What's a fire machine?

Would you believe, I woke late at night wondering if I had used the proper term, but decided not to wory - I meant Fire Engine!!! Sorry.

[espritch]

Nova Land, I'd just like to note that Machiavelli would have been proud of that last post of yours.

[Drooper]

"Any boss who fires anybody today is a bum."


Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia, 1983

[Shane Costello]

In response to growing public disquiet about lack of transparency in government one of our former PMs promised to conduct the affairs of state "as if behind a sheet of glass". When reality fell short of expectations on a later occassion he explained that this wasn't really the fault of him or his cabinet, but was due to the failure of the opposition to ask the right question.

We also had the infamous occasion when another former Taoiseach (PM) addressed the nation on TV in the midst of an economic crisis, solemnly informing people "that we as a nation are living beyond our means". This coming from a man who at the time was up to his oxters in personal debt, and recieving handouts from businessmen.

[Iconoclast]

Originally posted by Nova Land
It would be helpful (to me, at least) if people would indicate when providing quotes whether they are giving something that they have personally read or heard (in context, in a primary source) or if they are just repeating something that somebody else claims to have read or heard. In the latter case, I would appreciate being given the actual source of the alleged quote.

Here are examples of a couple of the quotes provided in this thread that aroused my curiosity as to actual source.

Originally posted by shanek
"Everything that can be invented has been invented." —Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.


This one I can help you with. It's been quoted all over the place, notably in Bryson's "Made In America", Minerva, 1996, p114, and Bryson notes that Duell actually resigned as patents commissioner with that quote.

Now, Bryson's reference comes from "The Economist", April 13, 1991, p83, so if you're serious about finding the source of this quote then you'll have to go down to your local library and request that particular issue of The Economist from their archive to find what -- if any -- cite they give.

[ceptimus]

We are a grandmother - Margaret Thatcher

[slimshady2357]

Here is a beauty from Toronto's Mayor at the time, Mel Lastman:

In early June, Lastman visited Mombasa, Kenya, to promote Toronto's Olympic bid. Prior to that trip, he told a Toronto Star freelancer that he didn't want to visit Africa because he and his wife feared snakes.

"What the hell would I want to go to a place like Mombasa," he said. "I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me."

:rolleyes:

Nice one, doofus!

Adam

[Nasarius]

Originally posted by Iconoclast
Now, Bryson's reference comes from "The Economist", April 13, 1991, p83, so if you're serious about finding the source of this quote then you'll have to go down to your local library and request that particular issue of The Economist from their archive to find what -- if any -- cite they give.

Are you quite sure? I'm getting:

The Economist (US), April 13, 1991 v319 n7702 p83(2)

The End of Laissez Faire. (book reviews)

It doesn't contain anything like that quote.

[Nasarius]

Aha, after searching for "Duell", the article is actually on page 63, not 83.

The Economist (US), April 13, 1991 v319 n7702 p63(1)
Research and disillusionment. (industrial research and development)

EVER since Charles Duell resigned as director of America's patent office in 1899, protesting that "everything that can be invented has been invented", corporate R&D departments have been doing their best to prove him wrong. Last year American firms spent $74 billion on R&D, dwarfing Japanese companies' still-hefty $36 billion and the $47 billion spent by firms in the European Community.

Blah blah blah, no mention of a source. Sorry.

By the way, I'm getting all this from InfoTrac OneFile.

[gnome]

Originally posted by Richard G
"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society."
-Hillary Clinton, 1993

I found many references to this quote on the web... none of them had any source material other than the year. Does anyone have more info on this one?

I suspect a misquotation that has been copied and recopied... not to mention that it makes sense that the more inflammatory versions of a quote would pass around more.

Many of the quotations on this list are of that nature.

" The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people"
--Bill Clinton, during an interview on MTV in 1993

The only info I found on this quote that was not simply repeating it with the minimal sourcing provided, was in a Democrats' discussion forum, one member apparently looked up some MTV transcripts and did not find it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forum_archive_html/DCForumID12/1792.html

We have to take this guy's word that he looked, of course. But I personally consider this to be a statement that would be rather out of character for President Clinton.

"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans . . . ."
--William J. Clinton, USA Today, March 11, 1993

It's amazing what you can do without the entire quotation.

From the Washington Post, March 2, 1993, according to the above amateur researcher:

Clinton said the country "can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles . . . that we are unable to think about the reality" of unsafe streets and violence throughout the country. "I hope the leadership of the National Rifle Association will go back to doing what it did when I was a boy" -- providing information about hunting and safety rather than fighting gun control proposals like those here and in Virginia, he said.


The Post here seems to be doing some selective editing themselves. Anyone got a transcript of the entire statement?

When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans, it was assumed that the Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly.... [However, now] there's a lot of irresponsibility. And so a lot of people say there's too much freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it."
Bill Clinton

More selective editing.

April 19, 1994:

Yes -- the young man, Michael Fay, in Singapore. As
you know, I have spoken out against his punishment for two reasons. One is, it's not entirely clear that his confession wasn't coerced from him. The second is that if he just were to serve four months in prison for what he did, that would be quite severe, but the caning may leave permanent scars, and some people who are caned, in the way they're caned, they go into shock. I mean, it's much more serious than it sounds. So, on the one hand, I don't approve of this punishment, particularly in this case.
Now, having said that, a lot of the Asian societies that are doing very well now have low crime rates and high economic growth rates, partly because they have very coherent societies with strong units where the unit is more important than the individual, whether it's the family unit or the work unit or the community unit.
My own view is that you can go to the extreme in either
direction. And when we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans, it was assumed that the Americans who had that freedom would used it responsibly. That is, when we set up this country, abuse of people by government was a big problem. So if you read the Constitution, it's rooted in the desire to limit the ability of government's ability to mess with you, because that was a huge problem. It can still be a huge problem. But it assumed that people would basically be raised in coherent families, in coherent communities, and they would work for the common good, as well as for the individual welfare.
What's happened in America today is, too many people live in areas where there's no family structure, no community structure, and no work structure. And so there's a lot of irresponsibility. And so a lot of people say there's too much personal freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. That's what we did in the announcement I made last weekend on the public housing projects, about how we're going to have weapon sweeps and more things like that to try to make people safer in their communities. So that's my answer to you. We can have --the more personal freedom a society has, the more personal responsibility a society needs, and the more strength you need out of your institutions -- family, community and work.


This still contains the provocative part of his commentary, but a more thorough reading gives a better idea of where he was coming from on this. Obviously one is free to disagree with his point of view.


"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal."
--Janet Reno

Covered in other posts


"Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed."
--Sara Brady, Chairman, Handgun Control

Covered in other posts.

"If a President of the United States ever lied to the American people he should resign."
- Bill Clinton running for US Representative in 1974

Misquoted--a grain of truth here that is badly exaggerated.

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/clinton.htm

I have to say, I could tell by reading the quotes that most of them were untrue or questionable... politicians with secret communist or facist beliefs may exist, but they don't blab their hidden thoughts at press conferences and interviews.

This reminds me a lot of the old myths about high profile individuals appearing on Oprah Winfrey and admitting to being racist, Satanist, or something else universally disliked.

[Brown]

"We've had sex."

--George H. W. Bush, speaking of his relationship with Ronald Reagan (Bush meant to say "success," and corrected himself a moment later, but many radio stations were fond of playing this quote without the correction.)

BTW, don't get me started on stupid Reagan quotes. Reagan beats any president within living memory (and beats Quayle, too) for the sheer number of absurdities he uttered in public.

"I'm afraid he'll catch me pickin' my nose."

--Richard Nixon, moments before going on the air on August 8, 1974, to announce his resignation. Nixon was making light of the fact that White House photographer Ollie Atkins had license to take whatever photographs he wanted, and Atkins was diligently snapping the president as he prepared to make an announcement unprecedented in American history. Nixon's light remark allowed him to get in a laugh before going on the air and making his somber resignation announcement.

[Brown]

"BULL$#!+!! Carter, Reagan and Anderson! It's all BULL$#!+!!"

--From a political commercial aired on the radio by dark horse candidate Barry Commoner in 1980. Although there were many complaints about the language, the FCC ruled that Commoner could say pretty much whatever he wanted in his political ads.

[JAR]

"Strike the Poles in such a way that they will despair of their lives; I have every sympathy with their situation, but if we want to exist we cannot do anything else than exterminate them. The wolf, too, is not responsible for being what God has made it, but we kill it, nevertheless, if we can."
--written by Otto von Bismarck in a letter from Petersburg to his sister in 1861

"I attach little value to human life because I believe in another world." -- Otto von Bismarck

[crocodile deathroll]

Originally posted by Judith
"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
- Donald Rumsfeld

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031201/80/efbou.html

That is an all time classic, so I thought to use it as a part of my signature

[JAR]

"After seeing 'RAMBO' last night, I know what to do the next time this happens."

-- said by Ronald Reagan in reference to the hijacking by terrorists of a TWA flight.

[Nova Land]

Ronald Reagan (as someone noted earlier) has lots of good ones.

Early in his presidency, when he didn't realize the microphone in front of him was live, he made a joking remark about how he had just declared war on the Soviet Union and that "the bombers are on their way."

My favorite Reagan infamous quote is from his address to the 1992 Republican convention that was nominating George Bush to run against Bill Clinton.
originally spoken by Ronald Reagan (http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/rr40/speeches/rnc92.htm)

"I heard those speakers at the other convention saying, 'we won the Cold War' -- and I couldn't help wondering, just who exactly do they mean by 'we'? And to top it off, they even tried to portray themselves as sharing the same fundamental values of our party! What they truly don't understand is the principle so eloquently stated by Abraham Lincoln: 'You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.'

"If we ever hear the Democrats quoting that passage by Lincoln and acting like they mean it, then, my friends, we will know that the opposition has really changed.

"Until then, we see all that rhetorical smoke, billowing out from the Democrats, well, ladies and gentlemen, I'd follow the example of their nominee. Don't inhale."
Why is this so embarrassing? Because Lincoln never said any such thing!

The words quoted are actually from William J. H. Boetcker, although over the years many people unfamiliar with Lincoln have passed the passage off as being from Lincoln. The misattribution was exposed in a 1970 book The Hoaxers by Morris Kominsky, but (as with many other of the false quotations Kominsky exposed) this didn't stop gullible people from copying the quote from each other and passing it off as genuine.

It would have been somewhat embarrassing for Reagan (and the GOP) if the coverage of this speech -- a highlight of the convention -- had included the fact that his quotation was spurious. Fortunately for Reagan, the US media prefers not to engage in fact-checking when it can be avoided. It was a week before I saw any mention in the papers that the "Lincoln" quote was not from Lincoln.

If you are going to lecture "the other party" about Lincoln, it helps to be familiar with Lincoln yourself!

[Brown]

Originally posted by Nova Land
Ronald Reagan (as someone noted earlier) has lots of good ones.

Early in his presidency, when he didn't realize the microphone in front of him was live, he made a joking remark about how he had just declared war on the Soviet Union and that "the bombers are on their way."Actually, Reagan was well aware that the microphone was live (but not on the air), and he spoke so that the technicians could do a sound check. He improvised that he had just signed legislation that would "outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

This was not intended as a serious policy statement, and it was not a "blooper" in the strictest sense. It was just an off-the-cuff joke that Reagan made so that the sound guy could do his work.

As I've said before, I think a lot of Reagan remarks are unfairly regarded as boneheaded, and this "bombing" remark is one of them. This was simply a lame joke inserted in place of saying something banal like "Testing one two three."

There are a few comments (such as Reagan's infamous "sonsabitches" remark and Nancy's "doing everything we can" prompt) that were inadvertently picked up by microphones and that caused embarrassment to the White House. These remarks were doubly embarrassing, because when they were reported, the White House denied that the remarks were made, forcing the news media to air the recordings to show that the White House denial was wrong.

Reagan made plenty of other remarks that were far more stupid than the "bombing" joke, and made them with full knowledge that they were being presented to the public.

[Zep]

Originally posted by Richard G
Not guns. Rights. No, just guns.

But keep the quotes coming in - they ARE funny.

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by Nova Land

Fortunately for Reagan, the US media prefers not to engage in fact-checking when it can be avoided. It was a week before I saw any mention in the papers that the "Lincoln" quote was not from Lincoln.

If you are going to lecture "the other party" about Lincoln, it helps to be familiar with Lincoln yourself!

It's not quite that simple. If it was Al Gore who said that, he would have been hounded with it the rest of his life.

[anti-woowoo]

"The founders of Rome were Romulus and Remulus" -- Italian PM Burlusconi.

There are quite a few more... URL=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3041288.stm]here[/URL]

[Brown]

"Nixon is a shifty-eyed, G** D*** liar."

--Harry S Truman on Richard M. Nixon, in "Plain Speaking."

"I will attend, weather permitting."

--Harry S Truman's handwritten RSVP on an invitation to his own inauguration.

[Yahweh]

Infamous quotes from politicians

Reminds me of a similiar discussion on PalTalk, the topic was "Favorite quotes from the JREF PalTalk room"... lots of good fun that was...

[daenku32]

http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcbogus.html

Next time Richard, check your facts.

[swellman]

Originally posted by Iconoclast


This one I can help you with. It's been quoted all over the place, notably in Bryson's "Made In America", Minerva, 1996, p114, and Bryson notes that Duell actually resigned as patents commissioner with that quote.

Now, Bryson's reference comes from "The Economist", April 13, 1991, p83, so if you're serious about finding the source of this quote then you'll have to go down to your local library and request that particular issue of The Economist from their archive to find what -- if any -- cite they give.

This quote seems to be an old myth. See this article from the Skeptical Inquirer

http://www.myoutbox.net/posass.htm

[Luciana]

In this thread, not only we learned some interesting quotes, but we also had a few others debunked. Where else do you get that bonus? That's one of the reasons why I love this place. :)

[Valiant Dancer]

Originally posted by Richard G


I personaly heard, and saw Janet Reno say this before a Congressional Commitee on CSPAN. It was also reported December 10, 1993 by the Associated Press.

The only quote I have that approaches this is "Gun registration is not enough." Attorney General Janet Reno, December 10, 1993 (Associated Press).

The other section where the abolishment of all private firearm ownership is a goal has been attributed to Janet Reno in 1993, 1995, sometimes on the same day as the "Gun registration is not enough" quote.

Most websites that carry it bemoan a sinister "New World Order".

While I have no doubt that you heard and saw the former, I doubt the latter. If you could provide a link to the story, I would appreciate it.

[bjornart]

"John Gummer is the biggest sh!tbag I have ever met."
Comment by the Norwegian Minister of the Environment, Thorbjørn Berntsen, after Gummer (British Minister of the Environment) had refused to discuss the acid rain problem on the grounds of the Norwegian minke whale harvest.

Sh!tbag is a direct translation of the Norwegian "Drittsekk" which Berntsen used. The Norwegian word might be slightly less offensive, but not much, and Gummer got stuck with the epithet "The s**t bag". :D

[Leif Roar]

Originally posted by bjornart
Sh!tbag is a direct translation of the Norwegian "Drittsekk" which Berntsen used. The Norwegian word might be slightly less offensive, but not much, and Gummer got stuck with the epithet "The s**t bag". :D

Just a small correction/difference of opinion. "Drittsekk" is actually quite a bit less offensive than the direct English translation. An equivalent English term would be "jerk" or "bastard."

Of course, you also have foreign minister Torbjørn Jagland's description of President Omar Bongo of Gabon as "Bongo from Kongo" - although I doubt the "poor foreigners" in this thread is familiar enough with Egner's books to understand what a large blooper it really was.

[ceo_esq]

"Consider the plight of the ordinary French worker, who together with his wife earns around 15,000 francs a month, living in a council [public housing] apartment next door to a crammed-in immigrant family with a father, 3 or 4 wives, and 20 kids and who collect 50,000 francs a month in welfare without lifting a finger. Add on top of that the noise and the smell, and the French worker understandably is driven crazy - and saying that doesn't make one a racist."
- Jacques Chirac

"The current troubles in the world are caused by that sh*tty little country, Israel."
- Daniel Bernard, French Ambassador to Britain

[Cleopatra]

"The current troubles in the world are caused by that sh*tty little country, Israel."
- Daniel Bernard, French Ambassador to Britain


Doctor X would have something nice to say about this cheese-eater and distinguished member of the "great unwashed"...

[Psiload]

"I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns."

James Watt, Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan.

Quoted at a Senate hearing... he also cited the approaching apocalypse to explain why he was dismantling his deptartment, and distributing it's assets rather than managing them for future generations. He also opined that environmental, and natural resource conservation where not valid concerns due to the fact that The Rapture would certainly occur before any adverse consequences would be realized.

:jaw:

[Nova Land]

By coincidence, a similar discussion of strange-quotes-from-politicians (including discussion of which are genuine and which are fakes) has been going on over at Peter David's web site (http://PeterDavid.net) . The discussion there started with the Rumsfeld quote (which some threads at this forum also talked about) and took off from there. (You'll need to go to the 12/01/2003 entry and click on the comment link to see the discussion.)
12/01/2003 Entry: "HUH?"

Donald Rumsfeld was award the "Foot in Mouth" award for the following:

"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."

I still think he could have salvaged it if he'd just added, "Yknow?" at the end.

[Nova Land]

Here are some quotes attributed to Tom DeLay by Jim Hightower in the current (November 2003) issue of his newsletter "The Hightower Lowdown".More DeLayisms

The EPA: "The Gestapo of government, purely and simply."

Global warming: "It is the arrogance of man to think that man can change the climate of the world. Only nature can change the climate. A volcano, for instance."

The Nobel Prize Committee: "Swedish environmental extremists."

The problems of fish kills caused by acid rain: "Just sprinkle a little lime to neutralize the acid."

Congressional pay raises (five in the last five years): "I challenge anyone to live on my salary" [$158,000 a year].

Leaving 12 million poor children out of the tax credit for families with children: "There are a lot of things more important than that."

After attending a round of golf and a fundraiser hosted by the owners of notorious sweatshops in Saipan: "I didn't see anyone sweating."

Launching a GOP task force to browbeat judges who fail to toe his ideological line: "Today, we in the House are putting America's judges on alert: We are watching you."

When asked to put out his cigar by a Washington restaurant owner who noted that the federal government prohibited it: "I am the federal government." I can't vouch for the authenticity of any of these, and even if they are genuine I have no idea if they are being quoted fairly or not -- it's possible DeLay said them but that they sound different when the full context is given. But I thought these were funny and worth sharing. (And it gives people a chance to debunk these if they are false.)

[Nova Land]

Here's a 1964 quote that deserves a place in the Hall of Shame but which seems largely forgotten today. In 1964, when Martin Luther King was awared the Nobel Peace Prize, the head of the FBI (and a right-wing hero of the time) J. Edgar Hoover called King "the most notorious liar in America."

I'm quoting this from memory and don't have a newspaper clipping at hand to cite, so I can't give the exact date of Hoover's remark, but it was widely reported at the time.

What I'd really like to contribute to this thread are some of the defenses of Hoover's remark that were made at the time. Next time I get to a library, time permitting, I'll look up at least one.

[TillEulenspiegel]

Originally posted by Brown
Actually, Reagan was well aware that the microphone was live (but not on the air), and he spoke so that the technicians could do a sound check. He improvised that he had just signed legislation that would "outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

This was not intended as a serious policy statement, and it was not a "blooper" in the strictest sense. It was just an off-the-cuff joke that Reagan made so that the sound guy could do his work.

As I've said before, I think a lot of Reagan remarks are unfairly regarded as boneheaded, and this "bombing" remark is one of them. This was simply a lame joke inserted in place of saying something banal like "Testing one two three."

There are a few comments (such as Reagan's infamous "sonsabitches" remark and Nancy's "doing everything we can" prompt) that were inadvertently picked up by microphones and that caused embarrassment to the White House. These remarks were doubly embarrassing, because when they were reported, the White House denied that the remarks were made, forcing the news media to air the recordings to show that the White House denial was wrong.

Reagan made plenty of other remarks that were far more stupid than the "bombing" joke, and made them with full knowledge that they were being presented to the public.


OMG a Seious St. Ronald worshiper, God save the fools.

You really think that R.R. posed as stupid and looney at times ? ( better then the present schmo, he ain't foolin ) Ya To fool the rooskies so when they werent lookin he'd nail em with a comic book fantasy project Das Star Wars ( which it remains ) God the best role he ever played was president... just like George II he had smarter people behind the throne. The typical reposte for St. Ronald's supporters is he gave us the largest peace time growth in historyand distroyed the evil empire ( the second being true because we spent so much on defence , it would have (and did ) bankrupted them ) . What you all fail to mention is that he also endowed us with higher inflation , the largest national debt ....oooo sorry that was BEFORE G2, in history and the largest national defecit in history, and the architech of his fiscal policy bailed because he saw it couldn't work. (David Stockman) Let's not go down the lane or revisionist history k? Yup.Yup he wasn't a ketchup...errr I mean a vegetable. He meant...ummm ..I can't recollect...err ask olli

edit:sp

[Nova Land]

Originally posted by TillEulenspiegel


OMG a Serious St. Ronald worshiper... As the person who offered up the Reagan quote that sparked this, I'd like to say that I agree with Brown's correction. He's right on all the details he cited -- Reagan was aware the mike was live, was making a sound check, and made a lame joke. And he's right -- a lame joke is not the same as a stupid statement intended seriously.

I don't think that makes Brown a Reagan worshipper, simply someone interested in keeping the record straight. As someone with a similar interest, I appreciate it.

The Reagan's comment Till refers to about ketchup being a vegetable would have been a much better example than the one I offered.

[NoZed Avenger]

Originally posted by TillEulenspiegel

What you all fail to mention is that he also endowed us with higher inflation . . . .


Higher that what, precisely? Certainly not higher than when he entered office.

But inflation -- and its reduction -- has more to do with the Fed than the presidency. Inflation was fairly tame during Reagan's term, but that was because of monetary policies under Paul Volcker, not because of Reagan (or even the Congress, who also have more direct impact on the economy and budget, as well).

Presidents always take the credit or face the blame for the economy, but rarely deserve either.

Let's not go down the lane or revisionist history k?

Agreed. Now about that inflation thing . . . .

[NoZed Avenger]

Originally posted by shanek
He was the preincarnate of Yogi Berra:

"For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like." &mdash;Abraham Lincoln



Remove this from the list. IIRC, this was a paid book review by Lincoln, and in context, it is actually pretty funny. It is a good example of how to write a blurb for a book without having to read the book.

[aerocontrols]

link (http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1098489,00.html)

Donald Rumsfeld can be criticised for a lot of things. But the US defence secretary's use of English is not one of them. The Plain English Campaign has shot itself in the foot this week by giving Mr Rumsfeld its annual Foot in Mouth award for this comment, delivered at a press conference earlier in the year:

...(the quote is here)

This is indeed a complex, almost Kantian, thought. It needs a little concentration to follow it. Yet it is anything but foolish. It is also perfectly clear. It is expressed in admirably plain English, with not a word of jargon or gobbledygook in it. A Cambridge literary theorist, US Air Force war gamer or Treasury tax law draftsman would be sacked for producing such a useful thought so simply expressed in good Anglo-Saxon words. So let Rummy be. The Plain English Campaign should find itself a more deserving target for its misplaced mockery.

[Brown]

Originally posted by Nova Land
I don't think that makes Brown a Reagan worshipper...Damn right it doesn't!

In my view, Reagan was the second worst president of my lifetime (the worst being Nixon). Reagan (like Nixon) had some very notable and valuable accomplishments, but he was not all that great as a president. I remember the Reagan years really well, and they were awful. I am no certainly fan of the Reagan presidency (although I felt Reagan himself was an extremely likable fellow).

A "Serious St. Ronald worshiper" (as TillEulenspiegel puts it) would never have mentioned, as I did, that Reagan made plenty of stupid remarks in public. Some of the folks who got all huffy about the Reagan movie were undoubtedly upset that the movie showed Reagan saying some stupid things... but they would not acknowledge that that was part of the man that he was. The guy was savvy about a lot of things, but he also let quite a bit of stupid stuff escape his mouth in public.

Do we want to bring up Reagan's address to Medal of Honor recipients that included a story about a Medal of Honor recipient who was entirely fictitious (apparently based in part upon a movie Reagan had seen)? Do we want to mention Reagan's first-day-in-office remark about portraying Grover Cleveland in a movie (Tip O'Neill had to correct Reagan, reminding him that he portrayed Grover Cleveland Alexander, a baseball player, not Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president of the US)? Or Reagan's "magazine" or "baseball" anecdotes that he told ad nausem? Or the time Reagan forgot how to sign his own name (signing a bill "Reagan Ronald")? Or Reagan's story about gun use in England, which he continued to tell in spite of having been repeatedly informed that it was untrue? Jeez, don't get me started.

[TillEulenspiegel]

You know I don't nessecarily agree with the characterization of Nixon as the worst president...

The man was borderline psychotic at times but in the non-impassioned historical view was probably the most successful presidents in re foreign policy . He opened up China to the outside world, Ditto the Soviet Union and MADE them engage in triangular diplomacy as they were estranged from each other taking advantage of the strengths and weakness' of each. ( Dr. K had much to do with this, but after it was the prez''s call) He actually was responsible for some rather remarkable federal legislation as well , the clean air act, Reorganization Plan No. 4 and an extraction from Vietnam ( after violating US law in many circumstances * Cambodia bombing Et.Al.).

He finally fell to his own demons as did Johnson, Carter, Reagan's image for some reason remains sacrosanct even with the ATC firings , fooked fiscal policy,Iran Contra and other peccadillo's,, Bush 1 Ex-CIA buckaroo " I was out of the loop" , the unfortunate Hustler presidency of Clinton, and now the completely unbelievable antics of George II and friends. No none of these men are perfect All are subject to various lapses of judgment, I do think however that the misuse of the full power and authority of the US is the most egregious abuse of the position and Nixon as well as others we're guilty.

[JAR]

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." --Joseph Stalin

[JAR]

"The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason: terror and force."
-- from volume 1 chapter 2 of "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler

"Mankind has grown strong in eternal struggles and it will only perish through eternal peace." --
from "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler

"The Sudetenland is the last territorial claim I have to make in Europe."
-- said by Adolf Hitler at Sports Palast, Berlin on September 26, 1938

[JAR]

""The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him. To ride their horses and take away their possessions. To see the faces of those who were dear to them bedewed with tears, and to clasp their wives and daughters in his arms."
-- Genghis Khan. Something very similar to this quote was said by Conan in the movie "Conan the Barbarian.":

"Mongol General: Conan, what is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!"

[michaellee]

"Mr. President, we love you. I want to hug you, I want to hug you, please do the right thing. This is nothing, this is nothing. Thomas Jefferson did not have
this in mind, I swear to God....I would give Ken Starr the Nobel Peace Prize were he to be man enough not to refer a sex lie to the House for impeachment."
— Geraldo Rivera urging Clinton not to cooperate, August 6, 1999 edition of Rivera Live on CNBC.

"The vocabulary has changed so that tax cuts now look like irresponsible spending and spending on investments and education and Medicare looks like
the responsible thing to do because if I get $100 back, I can’t go fix a school or clean a river, and people are more interested in these things than they
are in the tax cut, and the poll numbers, you know, don’t explain this. I mean the only thing that could explain this love of tax cuts is a lowered IQ."
-- Time’s Margaret Carlson, July 24, 1999 Capital Gang.

"Repealing the Second Amendment is no cause for the faint-hearted, but it remains the only way for liberals to trigger an honest debate on the future
of our bullet-plagued society. So what if anti-gun advocates have to devote the next 15 or 20 years to the struggle? The cause is worth the political pain.
Failing to take bold action condemns all of us to spend our lives cringing in terror every time we hear a car backfire."
-- USA Today columnist Walter Shapiro, Sept. 17, 1999.

"If you take that penny, for instance, out of the National Institutes of Health grants, that may be the penny that cures cancer. Are you willing to do that?"
-- ABC’s Sam Donaldson to House Majority Whip Tom DeLay on the proposed 1.4 percent across-the-board non-entitlement spending reduction, October 24, 1999 This Week.

"With the death of JFK Jr., there is now only one survivor of Camelot. That, of course, is Caroline Kennedy, the little girl who walked her father to
the Oval Office and rode a pony on the White House lawn. And now grown up with a family of her own, Caroline remains our only link to those golden years."
-- Today co-host Katie Couric, July 19, 1999

"We were talking about -- speaking for all women, if I may, Toni Morrison wrote in The New Yorker that Clinton was our first ‘black President,’ and I
think, in a way, Clinton may be our first ‘woman President.’ And I think that may be one of the reasons why women identify, because he does have
a lot of feminine qualities about him: The softness, the sensitivity, the vulnerability, that kind of thing."
-- The Washington Post’s Sally Quinn on CNN’s Larry King Live, March 10, 1999

"You may want to note that Cheney is referring to Clinton Gore, not Clinton and Gore, in effect making Clinton Al Gore’s first name: Clinton Gore."
-- Dan Rather during Dick Cheney’s acceptance speech after Cheney said "We’re all a little weary of the Clinton-Gore routine...it is time for them to go,"
August 2, 2000 CBS News Republican convention coverage.

"We begin by going right to the hotel that houses the winner of the Iowa poll tonight. Governor George W. Bush of Texas, and with him is his lovely
wife Laura. George is on the right. Laura is on the left."
-- Larry King hosting his CNN show, January 24, 2000

"But should you be using the national airwaves to promote your opinions?"
-- Diane Sawyer to Fox News Channel show host Bill O’Reilly, October 10, 2000 Good Morning America.

"What are you, a bunch of Jesus freaks? You ought to be working for Fox."
– CNN founder Ted Turner on Ash Wednesday to CNN employees with ash marks on their foreheads at Bernard Shaw’s retirement party, as reported
March 6, 2001 on FNC’s Special Report with Brit Hume

Bill O’Reilly: "I want to ask you flat out, do you think President Clinton’s an honest man?"
Dan Rather: "Yes, I think he’s an honest man."
O’Reilly: "Do you, really?"
Rather: "I do."
O’Reilly: "Even though he lied to Jim Lehrer’s face about the Lewinsky case?"
Rather: "Who among us has not lied about something?"
O’Reilly: "Well, I didn’t lie to anybody’s face on national television. I don’t think you have, have you?"
Rather: "I don’t think I ever have. I hope I never have. But, look, it’s one thing-"
O’Reilly: "How can you say he’s an honest guy then?"
Rather: "Well, because I think he is. I think at core he’s an honest person. I know that you have a different view. I know that you consider it sort of
astonishing anybody would say so, but I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things."
– Exchange on Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor, May 15, 2001

You know, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation, I didn’t know this until today, that doesn’t spend federal money promoting tourism. Do you think it should?"
– Question from NBC’s Katie Couric to Maryland Governor Parris Glendening on the October 1, 2001 Today. Glendening, a liberal Democrat, said no.

"More trouble at the nation’s amusement parks, two dozen people injured. Why won’t Congress let the government regulate those parks?"
– ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas, previewing an upcoming story on the July 31, 2001 World News Tonight

Mark McEwen: “Up and down the East coast, it’s coming our way, but we will probably see just rain in the big cities.”
Bryant Gumbel: “We never get any snow.”
McEwen: “Do you think it’s global warming?”
Gumbel: “Yes, yes.”
McEwen: “Do you, Jane?”
Jane Clayson: “Yeah.”
McEwen: “We’re unanimous...it’s global warming.”
– Exchange on CBS’s Early Show, February 6, 2002

“Experts Agree: Al Qaeda Leader Is Dead or Alive.”
– On-screen graphic during a story about Osama bin Laden’s fate on CNN’s 2pm Live From...on Sept. 3, 2002

“Since the early 1970s, the number of state prisoners has increased 500 percent, growing each year in the 1990s even as crime fell.”
– New York Times reporter Fox Butterfield, Jan. 21, 2002

“The reason that the World Trade Center got hit is because there are a lot of people living in abject poverty out there who don’t have any hope for a
better life....I think they [the 19 hijackers] were brave at the very least.”
– AOL Time Warner Vice Chairman and CNN founder Ted Turner in February 11, 2002 remarks at Brown University, as reported by Gerald Carbone
in the February 12 Providence Journal. The next day, Turner issued a statement: “The attacks of Sept. 11 were despicable acts. I in no way meant to convey otherwise.”

[peptoabysmal]

We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward.
-- Vice President Dan Quayle

Poor Dan, so misunderstood. He was stuck in a temporal anomaly.


"I can tell you that the decisions we made, we made because we thought they were in the interests of the American people,"--Bill Clinton, on being asked why he signed waivers, against the Pentagon's protest, to sell Loral missile guidance systems technology to Communist China, enabling China for the first time to launch nuclear weapons.
(May 18, 1998 edition of the Washington Times, front page)

Uh, poor world...

[JAR]

In page 500 of "Stalin" by Edvard Radzinsky, it says that at a Kremlin banquet that Charles de Gaulle was at, Stalin proposed a toast to Kaganovich and said, "a brave man. He knows that if the trains do not arrive on time we shall shoot him" and then he proposed a toast to Air Marshal Novikov and said, "a good marshall, let's drink to him. And if he doesn't do his job properly we shall hang him. People call me a monster, but as you see I make a joke of it. Maybe I'm not so horrible after all."

Afterwards, de Gaulle said, "And these are the people we shall be dealing with for the next hundred years!"

[Cleopatra]

One of the most politically incorrect quotes that have been said is attributed to Ariel Sharon.

I have used this quote once in a discussion about Iraq and I was challenged by aerocontrols to provide proof.

I have seen this quote in a site about Nuclear Weapons but I falied to find it since. Today I did something that I should have done earlier. I googled and this quote appears in every site of arabic propaganda that respects itself.

This doesn't mean that Ariel Sharon actually said it but I haven't found any reliable proof so far.

This is the quote that is attribute to Ariel Sharon. The matches that he is talking about are Israel's nuclear arsenal.

And these (http://www.google.com/searchhl=en&lr=&ie=ISO8859-1&q=+Arabs+have+the+oil+but+we+have+the+matches) are some results only from Google.

"Arabs may have the oil, but we have the matches"