Old Fogey's Quotes for Wednesday

"These guys have turned themselves into Lucy holding the football, while the American people no longer afford them a Charlie Brown benefit of the doubt."
Harold Meyerson in WaPo referring to Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfield
The GOP's Bankruptcy of Ideas

"Many Democrats and others around this country want us to point out that the White House actually has a pre-1776 perspective and we ought to have the guts to point that out."
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) regarding Rove's assertion that Democrats have a "pre-September 11 world view," as quoted in Wa Po
Parsing the Polls: Congress, Corruption

"War is terrible. But it, war brings out, you know, in some ways it it it it touches the core of Americans who volunteer to go in to combat to protect their, their souls. It touches something unique I think about our country that there are people who in the face of danger say 'I want to help. I want to, I want to save lives. I want to, uh, serve my country.' And, um, we see that here. We've seen that throughout our nation's history. And we're seeing it here in the 21st century."
Pres. George Bush in an interview with CNBC host Lawrence Kudlow as cited in the WaPo
Would Bush Rather Be Fishing?

"Detailed instructions on how to segue from, say, domestic soybean production to Mesopotamian nation-building were e-mailed to scores of department workers. Included was a caution that speechmakers should keep a record of their compliance, and turn in point-scoring summaries to be tallied for weekly reports to the White House."
NYT editorial on the White House instructing ranking bureaucrats and other occasional speechmakers at the Department of Agriculture to include "talking points" of praise for President Bush's handling of the Iraq war in their routine rhetorical fodder.
Editorial: An Agriprop Guide to Cluck and Awe

"But remaining unflappably confident while getting it all wrong is a vital credential for the head of the CIA under this Administration."
Robert Scheer in The Nation regarding the appointment of Gen. Hayden to head the CIA
A 'Perfect' Pick

"Skeptics said that African peasants would not grow more food, that fertilizers would go missing, that bed nets would be cut up to make wedding veils, and that local officials would block progress. The truth is the opposite. In any part of the world, the poorest of the poor want a chance for a better future, especially for their children. Give them the tools, and they will grasp the chance."
Jeffrey D. Sachs in Christian Science Monitor
Foreign aid is in everyone's interest