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Posted on 11/11/2001 2:55:13 AM PST by kattracks

On graduating from high school, writing in friends' yearbooks: "Vote Democratic." June 1961

• After then-Mayor Ed Koch says, "Some people, when they have an old shoe, think about getting a new one — until they realize how difficult it is to walk in:" "The mayor is like a loafer, not like an old shoe. He should have the grace to move on." May 8, 1989

• "I'm not mean, I'm really not. ... I love my wife and kids. I don't kick dogs. I'm a nice guy. This idea that I'm mean-hearted is a myth." Oct. 11, 1993

• On former Police Commissioner William Bratton: "Ambition is a good thing. Ambition is what made America what it is, what made this city what it is." Dec. 3, 1993

• On "Late Night with David Letterman": "We can kick your city's ass!" April 12, 1995

• After former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato was criticized for mocking O.J. Simpson Judge Lance Ito: "I used to really love doing [Marlon Brando's Godfather] accent, but I will never, ever do it again. Even I learned something from Al D'Amato." May 18, 1995

• "Excuse me if you don't like the style with which I'm doing it, but ... we have to produce results here, and temporizing isn't going to do that. I have a clear purpose of what I'm trying to do, and what I'm trying to accomplish, and we're going to move in that direction. If people like that, they can vote for me again. If they don't like it, they can throw me out of office. But at least I know who the hell I am." June 16, 1995

• On the Board of Education: "I don't think they have the foggiest idea of what they're doing, and it's a tragedy." Sept. 1, 1995

• After Pat Buchanan criticized the city and its citizens: "It sounds like he's in an absolute time warp. Pat Buchanan doesn't know what the hell he's talking about." Nov. 20, 1995

• "Let us all work together to vanquish hate and prejudice." Jan. 19, 1996

• After Rep. Charles Rangel used the phrase "gang rape" about Republican budget cuts: "I don't engage in gang rape." May 14, 1996

• After being asked about legal experts who questioned his advocating the death penalty in a cop-killing case, he called them "academic idiots": "They just like to get their dumb names in the paper." May 24, 1996

• "What we've done with students is to sometimes give them excuses for not learning. ... What we've done is create a philosophy of excuses as opposed to a philosophy of success." Sept. 6, 1996

• After a woman had her ashes spread at Yankee Stadium: "I don't think anybody's going to bury me in Yankee Stadium." Nov. 1, 1996

• "I gave the key to the city to each of the Yankees ... now they're all taking them to other cities." Dec. 22, 1996

• At a dinner for reporters: "Why are there no term limits on journalists?" Dec. 22, 1996

• At the same dinner: "New York is the best place to be on a slow news day. Just ask Mark Green." Dec. 22, 1996

• At Yankee Stadium during the playoffs against the Orioles: "No place in America has this kind of excitement. You can't match this." Oct. 9, 1996

• On naming Howard Safir police commissioner: "Although Howard Safir has very big shoes to fill, Howard Safir has very big feet." April 15, 1996

• On the Knicks-Bulls playoff series: "If we win, we get Michael Jordan, and if they win, they can have me." Sept. 3, 1996

• After Julie Andrews, star of "Victor/Victoria" asked, "Can you play a woman playing a man playing a woman?": "Haven't you seen my act? I already play a Republican playing a Democrat playing a Republican." March 1, 1997

• On the UN: "The $3.2 billion generated by the diplomatic community for our local economy is proof positive that the longstanding partnership between the United Nations and New York City is working to the city's advantage." Aug. 25, 1995

• "If they would like to leave New York over parking tickets, then we can find another use for that area of town." April 10, 1997

• To police after Haitian immigrant Abner Louima was attacked and sodomized in Brooklyn's 70th Precinct stationhouse: "If you really understand what it means to be a police officer, you will be among the most revulsed and repulsed by what happened here. If you don't understand that, you should really leave the Police Department." Aug. 14, 1997

• After police were criticized for arresting a driver who complained about a speed trap: "Find somebody else to beat up for a while, other than the Police Department." Aug. 28, 1997

• "This administration is a work in progress just as the city itself is a work in progress." Published Dec. 30, 1997

• On Board of Education President Carol Gresser: "She might as well take her silly remarks and do something else with them." Feb. 27, 1997

• After a sixth-grade teacher was immediately fired for discussing God and leading a classroom prayer: "If they were dealing with larceny or pedophilia, there wouldn't have been the same haste." June 20, 1998

• "We produce a lot of garbage. We don't do it because we're wasteful. We do it because there are a lot of people in the city, and that brings great benefits to the American economy." Jan. 16, 1999

• On the day of the shooting of unarmed Amadou Diallo by four cops: "Be patient. ... We all have to wait and react to facts." Feb. 4, 1999

• "It obviously troubles both the police commissioner and myself that 41 shots were fired." Feb. 5, 1999

• At Diallo's funeral: "I'm very sorry for what happened, and I think everyone in the city is very sorry for what happened, and we wish it could be reversed in some way." Feb. 12, 1999

• On what drunken-driving suspects whose cars are impounded by cops should say: "'Thank you, officer, you've helped me deal with a problem that I otherwise wouldn't deal with, that endangers my fellow citizens.'" Feb. 26, 1999

• To a graduating class of police officers: "Ultimately, you should consider yourselves ... civil rights workers. You protect the citizens of the city's ... most basic right: to be free of crime and free of fear." April 26, 1999

• After a poll showed most New Yorkers opposed his education plans: "Leadership is not about polls." May 2, 1999

• After the governor and Legislature agreed to abolish the city commuter tax: "Maybe it will hurt me politically, but the message I am trying to send is, 'Don't mess around with the city." May 13, 1999

• On the possibility of facing Hillary Clinton in the Senate race: "I'm looking forward to see what kind of support I can get, and also to see the fun we could have as I travel to Arkansas and announce that although I've never lived there, never worked there and don't know much about the place, I'm running for the Senate." June 5, 1999

• On vowing to cut off aid to the Brooklyn Museum for planning to display a work of art featuring an image of the Virgin Mary splattered with elephant dung: "You don't have a right to government subsidy for desecrating somebody else's religion. And therefore we'll do everything that we can to remove funding for the Brooklyn Museum until the director comes to his senses." Sept. 23, 1999

• "I have an absolute right to explain to people when I believe that a judge has acted incorrectly, illegally, stupidly. There are times when all those things happen." Dec. 18, 1999

• On Hillary Clinton: "Go back to Arkansas." Dec. 24, 1999

• Announcing his divorce: "For quite some time, it's probably been apparent that Donna and I lead, in many ways, independent and separate lives." May 10, 2000

• To a reporter, after disclosing he had prostate cancer, "Pray for me." May 12, 2000

• On withdrawing from the Senate race because of the cancer diagnosis: "You realize you're not a superman. You're just a human being." May 19, 2000

• On whether he'd grown closer to God: "I hope He's closer to me." May 19, 2000

• After defending the police on charges of racial profiling: "It's part of a political game that gets played in this city, which is, 'Let's see if we can work up racial tension by misunderstanding what people are saying in good faith.' They do it all the time to me. I'm used to it." Oct. 6, 2000

• "I just went through a very difficult year — probably the most difficult year of my life. Nobody did more to help me than Judith Nathan. I'll be eternally grateful to her." May 17, 2001

• "I don't want any sympathy from anyone." May 17, 2001

• "Could I turn around the Board of Education the way I've turned around the city? Yeah, I could have done it in about six months." Aug. 17, 2001

• After calling city bus drivers "morons": "You want to call me names, you want to yell at me? I listen for a little while, and then I tell you what I think of you. ... That's the way I am. That's my personality. ... The things I do not accept without response ... is when somebody tries to impugn your integrity." June 29, 2001

• After a reporter asked if he got approval from the Conflicts of Interest Board to stay at the home of friend and major campaign donor Howard Koeppel: "I said, don't be a jerk." Aug. 25, 2001

• On the terror attacks: "It's something we had nightmares about and probably thought wouldn't happen." Sept. 11

• "The death toll may be more than New York can bear." Sept. 11

• "This tragedy may have destroyed thousands of lives, but ... it made our spirits stronger. It told us what it means to defend democracy." Sept. 15

• On giving away the daughter of a fallen firefighter at her wedding less than a week after the terror attack: "This is what life is all about. You have to go on and take advantage of the good things in life. I've thought quite a lot about that this week. And this is one of the good things: a wedding." Sept. 16

• "The life of the city is going, and the city is stronger than it was last week. We had the most horrible attack in the history of the city. We emerged a strong city, more united." Sept. 16

• "The simple reality is that we will not be able to rescue a significant number of people." Sept. 17

• "I encourage people from all over the country who want to help, I have a great way of helping: Come here and spend money. Go to a restaurant, a play — you might actually have a better chance of getting tickets to 'The Producers' now, if you want to come here and see it. The life of the city goes on." Sept. 17

• On running for a third term: "I don't know what the right thing to do is. I do not know." Sept. 18

• "Those are things to think about and discuss, but it almost doesn't seem right to be talking about that right now." Sept. 19

• "It is no different than it was yesterday. We continue to conduct a rescue and recovery effort." Sept. 19

• On recovering from the attack: "This drama is a longer one. We don't have a closure, like the funeral that took place for President Kennedy." Sept. 21

• "To those who say that our city will never be the same, I say, you are right. It will be better. Now we understand much more clearly why people from all over the globe want to come to New York City and to America, why they always have and they always will. It's called freedom, the equal protection of law, respect for human life and the promise of opportunity." Sept. 23

• "We have met the worst of humanity with the best of humanity. Our skyline will rise again." Sept. 23

• "We are going to have to learn to cry and laugh at the same time because we are going to have memorial services every day for some time." Sept. 29

• "I think that anybody who thinks they are ready for this job on Jan. 1 — given the monumental tasks that lie ahead — doesn't understand this job." Oct. 3

• "Go out. Go to restaurants. Go to plays. Do it for lots of reasons, but the most important reason: Don't give the terrorists that victory." Oct. 4

• "We're a free country. Let's act like free people." Oct. 7

• About anthrax: "I think we should really say to everyone to really calm down. Things are not getting worse. It just depends on what you choose to focus on." Oct. 15

• On being named an honorary knight: "Just call me Rudy." Oct. 15

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