Archive [January 1999]

“Ken Starr made a strong case that the President broke the law, but there were no big bombshells.” — GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, AFTER KEN STARR’S TESTIMONY, ON ABC

Yeah — what else is new?

“If we were in other countries, we would all right now, all of us together, all of us together would go down to Washington and we would stone Henry Hyde to death! We would stone him to death! … We would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and we’d kill their wives and their children! We would kill their families!” — ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR, AFTER IMPEACHMENT VOTE IN THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, ON “LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN”

The tolerance of the Hollywood left.

“No corruption is more evil and destructive than the corruption of government officials.” — AL GORE, ANNOUNCING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FEB. 24-26 TO ADDRESS “CORRUPTION ISSUES.” MASTER OF CEREMONIES: AL GORE. QUOTED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Care to name names?

“The Founding Fathers let us down.” — MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, HISTORIAN, UNSATISFIED WITH THE CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES FOR PRESIDENTIAL MISBEHAVIOR, QUOTED BY SALLY QUINN IN THE WASHINGTON POST

Speak for yourself.

“As long as he [Starr] did not show up before the House Judiciary Committee this morning in a stained trench coat with a copy of Hustler magazine under his arm, he was bound to exceed expectations.” — TED KOPPEL, AFTER KEN STARR’S APPEARANCE BEFORE THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, ON ABC’S “NIGHTLINE”

When it comes to hustlers and stains, it isn’t Ken Starr who springs to mind.

“So to the people who say you’re a prude, you’re a Puritan, you’re the sex police, you say what?” — DIANE SAWYER, INTERVIEW WITH KENNETH STARR, ABC’s “20/20”

We say Bill Clinton is impeached.

“Garry Trudeau dismissed that a few weeks ago.” — REP. JOHN CONYERS (D, MI), RANKING MINORITY MEMBER OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, ASSERTING THAT ANY PERJURY CHARGE AGAINST THE PRESIDENT HAD ALREADY BEEN ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED IN THE “DOONESBURY” COMIC STRIP, QUOTED IN THE WEEKLY STANDARD

Minor detail: Doonesbury doesn’t get a vote.

“Hillary Clinton, as far as I’m concerned, she’s the Person of the Year, if Time magazine doesn’t put her on the cover, they may put Mike, Mark McGwire, or Alan Greenspan, or somebody, but Hillary Clinton is the Person of the Year in that, you talk about a comeback kid — she makes her husband look like Ned in knee pants in terms of comeback from where she was early in the Clinton Administration.” — DAN RATHER, ON CNN’S “LARRY KING LIVE”

Oh. Thought you said “kneepads.”

“If you truly, truly love your children, you need to supply condoms in a place in your home, at a quantity that makes it a non-judgmental situation for them to have them … I mean, put 200 condoms in a box in some place in the house where everybody isn’t all the time, so that your kids can take them.” — SHARON STONE, ACTRESS, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT U.N. FOR WORLD AIDS DAY, LIFESITE DAILY NEWS

The wisdom of the Hollywood left.

“Quite frankly, I think the military’s standards are too high.” — REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D, FL), WHEN ASKED BY A CONSTITUENT IN THE ARMY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN “RAIS[ING] CIVILIAN STANDARDS BY IMPEACHING THE PRESIDENT OR LOWER THE MILITARY’S STANDARDS,” QUOTED IN THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Democrats — the party of perjury, adultery, and lowering standards.

“It’s suicide — we will make sure it is.” — UNNAMED WHITE HOUSE AIDE, BEFORE REP. JAY DICKEY (R, AR) VOTED TO IMPEACH, QUOTED IN THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The Kevorkian Administration.

“The main people who hate him in the polls that I have seen are the young men, 25 to 35. And I think there’s a little problem there — men butting heads with trees … you know, like moose do … Men have a problem with Bill Clinton.” — SUSAN MCDOUGAL, WHEN ASKED BY LARRY KING WHY PEOPLE “HATE” BILL CLINTON, ON CNN’S “LARRY KING LIVE”

No moose support, but he still has the cow vote.

“She’s gonna be shovelin’ mud. Then she’ll wipe the sweat from her brow, like this. Make sure you get that shot, all right?” — NATHAN NAYLOR, PRESS SPOKESMAN FOR AL GORE, BRIEFING TV NETWORK STAFFS BEFORE TIPPER GORE’S VISIT TO HONDURAS, HIT BY HURRICANE MITCH, QUOTED IN THE [LONDON] INDEPENDENT.

Don’t miss that moment of spontaneous Democrat compassion.

“Is this where I’m supposed to shovel?” —TIPPER GORE, SPOTTING AN OLD LADY SHOVELING MUD FROM HER HUT IN THE SLUMS OF TEGUCIGALPA. SPOKESMAN NATHAN NAYLOR: “NO, NO, IT’S FURTHER DOWN.” BUT CAMERAMEN HAD ALREADY SURROUNDED THEM. QUOTED IN THE [LONDON] INDEPENDENT

I’d suggest you start in Washington.

“This would put our economy in the tank, it could destabilize the entire world.” — REK ZOE LOFGREN (D, CA), MEMBER OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, ON IMPEACHMENT, ON “FOX NEWS SUNDAY”

Where’s Tipper’s shovel?

“…Millions of people will suffer and die because the Republican Congress wants to get President Clinton for a personal sin.” — THE REV. PAUL MOORE, FORMER EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW YORK, ADDRESSING A RALLY ORGANIZED BY “AMERICANS AGAINST IMPEACHMENT.” REUTERS

Translation: Let’s try the lie that worked with Medicare and school lunches.

“There’s going to be a big popular uprising against this process.” — FATHER ROBERT F. DRINAN, FORMER REPRESENTATIVE (D, MA), WARNING REPUBLICANS ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPEACHMENT, QUOTED IN THE WASHINGTON POST

Translation: The rent-a-mobs are waiting for the signal.

“It all depends on what the definition of ‘it’ is.” — NAVY ADM. HAROLD W. GEHMAN JR., FOUR-STAR HEAD OF U.S. ATLANTIC COMMAND, WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE NAVY’S MISSION AND THE SERVICE’S ABILITY TO EXECUTE IT WITH ONLY 320 WARSHIPS, AT A BREAKFAST WITH REPORTERS. QUOTED IN THE WASHINGTON TIMES

You’re learning.

“My grandmother was one-quarter Cherokee.” — BILL CLINTON, AS NATIVE AMERICANS CRITICIZED HIS “RACE INITIATIVE” FOR IGNORING THEM. SINCE THE ROOTS OF THE TRIBE ARE IN OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, AND NORTH CAROLINA, TRIBAL AUTHORITIES WERE SKEPTICAL OF CLINTON’S CLAIM. “IF YOU LIVED IN ARKANSAS … GIVE IT UP,” SAID CHEROKEE HERITAGE CENTER GENEALOGIST TOM MOONEY. THE WHITE HOUSE DID NOT FIND CLINTON’S RELATIVE’S NAME TO COMPARE AGAINST OFFICIAL CHEROKEE ROLLS. QUOTED IN THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Our first Cherokee President!

“If you put a gun to my head and say, ‘Do you think the President lied under oath?’ I would probably say, ‘Yeah,’ if I had to guess.” — REP. JERROLD NADLER (D, NY) ON CNN’S “CROSSFIRE”

No guns, no guesses; your job is to vote, sir.

“I don’t want my children or grandchildren reading in the history books that someone lied under oath, which I think the President did, and was not rebuked for it in some way.” — REP. CHARLES SCHUMER (D, NY), WHILE ADVOCATING CENSURE INSTEAD OF IMPEACHMENT, ON CBS’S “FACE THE NATION”

Psssst! Chuck! The party line is, he didn’t lie.

“He didn’t say he lied because he doesn’t believe he lied.” — ANONYMOUS “WHITE HOUSE LOYALIST,” DEFENDING CLINTON’S LATEST APOLOGY, QUOTED BY MSNBC

Well, okay then.

“In fact there is no testimony or no proof that President Clinton knew he was wrong when he looked at that definition [of sex] and intentionally lied.” — GREG CRAIG, DEFENDING CLINTON BEFORE THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, QUOTED IN THE NEW YORK POST

I’d say DNA was fairly good proof.

“That’s their story and they are sticking to it.” — GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ON THE WHITE HOUSE 182-PAGE DEFENSE, ON ABC’S “NIGHTLINE”

Why not? It has worked for six years.

“Evasive, incomplete, misleading, even maddening.” — GREG CRAIG, WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL, TESTIFYING BEFORE THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, CHARACTERIZING BILL CLINTON’S TESTIMONY UNDER OATH. QUOTED IN THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Hmmm. Sounds like a good definition of “slick.”

Reporter: “Can you name one President that has told more lies?” Joe Lockhart, White House spokesman: “I don’t think I’m going to take that question.” — WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE

Good strategy.