The Year's 10 Best Quotes

Past incidents overblown at best, duplicitous at worst

(NEWSER) - Reports of political hate crimes against Democrats since the passage of the health care reform bill are overblown at best, and downright lies at worst, Michelle Malkin writes, charging that Nancy Pelosi & Co. “can’t stand the heat” and so manufactured “a Tea Party epidemic of racism, harassment, and violence against them.” Many of the charges remain uncorroborated, Malkin says—yet the mainstream media aren’t waiting for that to condemn conservatives as hateful. More»

From Dancin' DeLay to Roberts' inaugural flub, 'twas a weird year

(NEWSER) - Politics isn’t always a deadly serious game of statesmanship. Sometimes it’s goofy. Politico recalls the most bizarre moments of 2009:

• Barack Obama sworn in—twice: Obama joked that they’d done it because “we decided it was so much fun.”
• Sarah Palin resigns: Even her aides were surprised, and a meandering resignation speech did little to explain away possibly the year’s biggest political curveball.

President slides by on half-truths on health care: Krauthammer

(NEWSER) - Joe Wilson wasn’t quite right. President Obama doesn’t lie, exactly, writes Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post, but he still has an odd “relationship to the truth.” For example, Obama promised to veto any bill that grew the deficit, then with his very next sentence promised to require more cuts “if the savings we promised don’t materialize.” But Congress can’t be forced to do anything. "Every year since 2003, Congress has waived the cuts." More»

Some Republicans want to kill all reform, Obama tells 60 Minutes

(NEWSER) - President Obama is convinced he'll soon sign a strong health care reform bill, but bemoaned outbursts like Rep. Joe Wilson's which is turning serious debate into "a big circus," he said in a Sixty Minutes interview. Bringing civil debate to Washington is "a work in progress," Obama said. Some in the Republican Party believe that killing all reform is "good politics," the president said. Others "sincerely want to see something done," he added. More»

President will exclude illegals from new health-care purchasing exchanges

(AP) - Looks like Joe "You Lie!" Wilson scored a direct hit: The White House denied the charge, saying illegal immigrants wouldn't be covered under his health plan, but moved yesterday to beef up measures to exclude them. The Senate Finance Committee looked ready to follow its lead. Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs sketched a new position that goes even further than conservative critics had demanded: Obama will oppose letting illegal immigrants buy insurance through new purchasing exchanges the government will set up. More»