Our politicians, public officials, journalists and pundits have said some truely boneheaded things this year. The purpose of this topic is to do your best to think of the best bad quote of the year. These quotes must have been made by a public official, journalist or pundit during 2005.

Let's try to keep it fun

~~~~~~~~~~

I'll go ahead and start this off with Bill O'Reilly. I could honestly pull almost anything from his show and it'd be a contender, but I'll go with this one:


Calling for a terrorist attack on an American city against a monument to firefighters - great job Bill.

My selection for the worst quote of 2005:

"Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a job."

--President George W. Bush

So any to choose from......so little bandwidth........but in the spirit of keeping it fun, I'll select from the PC Police files.

CNN anchor Carol Lin from November 6th 2005, speaking on the rioting in France:

“because it’s been 11 days since two African-American teenagers were killed, electrocuted during a police chase, which prompted all of this.”

Sen. Bill Frist- diagnosing Terri Schiavo's condition during a speech on the Senate floor, March 17, 2005

"I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or
so looking at last night in my office. She certainly seems to respond to visual
stimuli."

The autopsy later revealed she was blind.

Oh, that's real easy.

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," (William Bennett)

Fairness and accuracy demands that I include the second part of Wild Bill's statement where he added that such an act would be: "...an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

You know...even on a second read it STILL seems like a racist, repugnant and incredibly brain-dead thing to say.

SPECIAL EQUAL TIME ADDITION:

Alphonso R. Jackson, secretary of housing and urban development, during a visit with hurricane victims in Houston, said New Orleans would not reach its pre-Katrina population of "500,000 people for a long time," and "it's not going to be as black as it was for a long time, if ever again."

http://washingtontimes.com/national/200509...14710-8545r.htm

While schmed's is a great one and their are so many to choose from, this one from Barbara Bush at the hurrican relief center in Texas was a pretty bad one also.



http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/ne...t_id=1001054719

Schmed beat eveyone to the heck of a job quote, but for a real look at how out of touch this President is, I'd have to nominate:


I suspect that Senator Lott is better insured than the average person, is going to get a lot less resistance from his insurance company, and will probably be able to get his choice of contractors who are willing to bid low and build with quality in order to impress him... Then, when everyone finishes their part, George is looking forward to sitting on the porch. If I were Trent Lott, I think that is one photo op that it would be politic to pass up!

Even though the "Brownie quote" is well-known, this one might be in the running as well:
link


Here's another one:
link

There's an old saying that when I point a finger at someone, I point three back at myself. Therefore, in the interest of fairness, I will admit that I have been guilty of this same egregious error. To quote from my own review of an old movie version of Othello starring Sir Laurence Olivier in the title role:




(Bold added to emphasize my mistake)

Of course, I really meant that he looked like an African Moor.

I hereby nominate myself for the most foolish quote of the year.

Bush is far too easy..I think you all should have to try a little harder

My nomination is for Ted Turner and his comments on North Korea.

TURNER:
But I had a great time. I am absolutely convinced that the North Koreans are absolutely sincere. There's really no reason -- no reason for them to cheat or do anything to violate this very forward agreement. I mean, I think we can put the North Korea and East Asia problems behind us and concentrate on Iran and Iraq, where we still have some ongoing difficulties.

BLITZER: I have got to tell you, Ted, given the record of North Korea, especially the fact that, in the Clinton administration in '93, '94, they made a similar pledge, which they violated and they backed out of, I'm not exactly sure that I accept all your optimism.

TURNER: Well, you know, I was optimistic about the Cold War when I got to Russia, too.

But I looked them right in the eyes. And they looked like they meant the truth. I mean, you know, just because somebody has done something wrong in the past doesn't mean they can't do right in the future or in the present. That happens all the -- all the time.

BLITZER: But this is one of the most despotic regimes. And Kim Jong Il is one of the worst men on Earth. Isn't that a fair assessment?

TURNER: Well, I didn't get -- I didn't get to meet him, but he didn't look -- in the pictures that I have seen of him on CNN, he didn't look too much different than most other people I have met.

BLITZER: But look at the way -- look at the way he's -- look at the way he's treating his own people.

TURNER: Well, hey, listen, I saw a lot of people over there. They were thin and they were riding bicycles, instead of driving in cars, but...

BLITZER: A lot of those people are starving.

TURNER: I didn't see -- I didn't see any -- I didn't see any brutality in the capital or out in the -- on the DMZ.


source

Careful there Mudge. I think Lott has reduced his support for tort reform. Why would an insurance company give a Senator resistance, a Senator that had a famous photo op with the president? Who knows, but here's the story.

Lott sues insurance company over Katrina damage



o and here's a quote that i thouhgt was pretty darn stoopid.


Donovan McNabb: Mediocre at best
By J. Whyatt Mondesire
Attytood

I think most of these statements are good candidates for "worst quote of the year." In order not to repeat something someone else has posted, I submit this from vice president Cheney.

One way to make people think you are brilliant is to open your mouth as little as possible. Dick Cheney fits that mold. Once in a while the vice president emerges from hibernation to open his mouth and insert foot. Last year it was using the “f word” on the floor of the U. S Senate.

This year Cheney told Larry King this:



http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/30/cheney.iraq/

Unfortunately Cheney was wrong. Go back to your den and go to sleep Mr. vice president.

Jackson 'fondled Home Alone star'

That's likely the most nonsensical thing I've ever heard, let alone this year.

Skimming my blog this seems like a common thread for me...

link
...and the crown jewel of idiocy!

Oh gosh, many come to mind. But here is my nominee for best bad quote.

GWB:

"You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20...20050204-4.html

+++++

... and here are some more. (hope that is ok...)

Wolf Blitzer:

"As much as you see that picture, though, you simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals. As Jack Cafferty just pointed out, so tragically, so many of these people, almost all of them that we see, are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people who are watching this story unfold."

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/050...sitroom.02.html

+++++

Larry Mumper, Ohio State Legislator:

“If the system were fair, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity would be tenured professors somewhere.”

+++++

Harriet Myers [to you-know-who]:

"You are the best governor ever."


+++++

Clear Channel radio host Glenn Beck:

"I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out -- is this wrong?"

+++++

Pat Robertson:

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."

+++++

Tucker Carlson:

“Canada is a sweet country. It is like your retarded cousin you see at Thanksgiving and sort of pat him on the head. You know, he’s nice, but you don’t take him seriously. That’s Canada.”

That really is a stretch on Mumper's part. Both Limbaugh and Hannity dropped out of college. I don't think we should abandon the Ph.D. standard in favor of granting tenure to ideologues.

Thanks for the link! I had missed that story! It would be off topic to expand, but I am delighted to know that someone of Trent Lott's political pull is being shown the fine print in his homeowner's insurance! Perhaps GWB can spend some of his political capital to help out a friend. I reiterate though, that if I were Trent Lott, I would never invite the insensitive jerk back to sit on my new porch for a photo op.

edited at (eeyore's interpretation of) CW's request
My nomination - Cindy Sheehan:

"My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full-well that my son, my family, this nation, and this world were betrayed by a George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agenda after 9/11"

"America has been killing people on this continent since it was started. This country is not worth dying for"

...and when the hurricane took her off the front pages, mama Sheehan on Daily Kos...

I am watching CNN and it is 100 percent (Hurricane) Rita...even though it is a little wind and a little rain...it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today...and in the world!!!!"

edited to add honorable mention
CBS "Memogate" producer Mary Mapes: "I'm perfectly willing to believe those documents are forgeries if there's proof I haven't seen."

ABC's Brian Ross: "But isn't it the other way around? Don't you have to prove they're authentic?"

Mapes: "Well, I think that's what critics of the story would say. . . . I think they have not been proved to be false yet."

Ross: "Have they proved to be authentic, though? Isn't that really what journalists do?"

Mapes: "No, I don't think that's the standard."

Here's a video of the Wolf Blitzer comment that niftydrifty mentioned.

http://www.nowpublic.com/node/18600

"I think with a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, you can't play, you know, hide the salami, or whatever it's called." --Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean

"Roll up your sleeves! It makes you look more hardworking."-Memo to FEMA Chief Brown.

"I have a plan."-John Kerry...about everything...

"Yes."-Harriet Myers, answering an open response question in a SCOTUS questionnaire.

"Oregon shouldn't have a problem with Oklahoma."-Dontreadonme

CP

wow... were all of the liberals on AD waiting for this one or what????

How 'bout a funny one from Mr. Leno...

Oh, my, there are just so many!

Natural disasters seemed to bring out the stupid in every politician and pundit. The “gems” that stood out to me are:

"Get some devastation in the back." - Bill Frist, visiting tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka

this one takes my "most insensitive, ignorant and crass" award:

"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." – Barbara Bush

"Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house—he's lost his entire house—there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." G. W. Bush

But the all-time, number one dumbest quote of 2005 has to be:

"Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job." – G. W. Bush

With the runner-up being this:

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." – G. W. Bush

"I felt like the `P.' was getting between me and my fans, and now we're closer." -Diddy on his name change from P. Diddy. Glad you've got the important things covered, Diddy.

"I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover. If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don’t wonder why He hasn’t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I’m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that’s the case, don’t ask for His help because he might not be there.” -- Pat Robertson

The people of Dover voted out school board members who favored Intelligent Design. Unfortunately for the proponents of Intelligent Design, this was a double loss -- part of their argument is that ID doesn't promote religion because no specific religion is referenced. Robertson effectively canceled that strategy by invoking the Christian God's wrath as a punishment for being against it.


And just to slip this one by that needs no context:

"You can use vitamins to help a woman through those things." Tom Cruise

Today's daily double:

(1) "In contrast to New Orleans, there was only minimal looting after the horrendous 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan—because, when you get down to it, Japanese aren't blacks."---Steve Sailer

(2) "We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I do believe that. I think that religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies. I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder. If you look at it logically, it's something that was drilled into your head when you were a small child. It certainly was drilled into mine at that age. And you really can't be responsible when you are a kid for what adults put into your head."--Bill Maher


Post-script:

And, doomed planet, note that "blind" may refer to a non-functioning visual cortex. However, there is a "quick path" to the amygdala and thus it is entirely possible that Terri Schiavo had an emotional response to something that she didn't "see".

We aren't debating Terri Schiavo on this thread. We are sharing our favorite
"worst quotes."

I am aware that this thread is about stupid statements of 2005, but I can't resist this.

It is only 5 days into January and Pat Robertson has already stuck his foot in his mouth. It would be tragic if the race were already over this early in the year, but...

Pat Robertson today suggested that Ariel Sharon's illness was guided by deity. Geez a 77-year-old man has a stroke, lies in a medically induced coma and Robertson shows us the compassionate side of his "Christianity." A stroke at this age seems like a rather natural thing. I wonder what transgression Robertson will commit when "god" finally calls for his demise?



http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/05/robertson.sharon/

Lou Dobbs was livid over this remark.

"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs."

John Kerry, US Senator

I'll throw in two. In the interests of bi-partisanship I'll do one of each