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Top Quotes of the '00s

'Bring 'em on' from George Bush makes the list

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 2, 2010 2:50 PM CST
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(Newser) – David Sirota culls the top 10 quotes of the decade that speak to the nation's shortcomings. See the full list at Salon here. A sampling:

  • "It doesn't matter." Dick Cheney, 2006, when asked about polls showing a majority of Americans opposed the Iraq war. It's a "sign the ruling class truly does not care about the demands of the public," writes Sirota.
  • "I didn't campaign on the public option." President Obama, December 2009. His presidential platform, however, promised the chance to "enroll in (a) new public plan."

  • "$500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly if there is no bonus." Wall Street pay consultant James Reda, February 2009. Showing "just how totally out of touch the super-rich really are."
  • "Bring 'em on." President Bush, 2003, in a taunt to al-Qaeda. Being tough apparently means "flippantly sacrificing young American lives."
  • "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 they're some things we do not know. But there're also unknown unknowns; the ones we don't know we don't know." Donald Rumsfeld, 2002. In other words, the US didn't have a clue in Iraq.

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
In this June 1, 2009, file photo, former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the National Press Club in Washington.
In this June 1, 2009, file photo, former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the National Press Club in Washington.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 33 comments
thekeepitrealman
Jan 3, 2010 6:43 AM CST
" I did not have sex with that woman..... Miss Lewinski." ---- Bill Clinton.
thekeepitrealman
Jan 3, 2010 6:40 AM CST
" IS our chlidren learning? " --- W.
dj-spellchecka
Jan 3, 2010 5:44 AM CST
one more from late '02 -- John DiIulio: "There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus. What you've got is everything -- and I mean everything -- being run by the political arm. It's the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis."
Politics • US

 
Dick Cheney • Donald Rumsfeld • George W. Bush • President Obama • best of the decade

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