Posted on 12/26/2001 5:50:05 PM PST by Apollo
The previous administration left us with many memorable quotes. The choice was difficult, but here is a list of the Top 10 Quotes of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hillary Clinton, along with some commentary.
Whatever feelings you may have about Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hillary Clinton, we can all agree that none of them will be forgotten anytime soon. They have provided us with numerous opportunities for criticism and seemed to revel in it.
Most of us became acquainted with Al Gore when he ran for President in 1988 and with the Clintons in 1992 in their famous 60 Minutes interview regarding the Gennifer Flowers affair (which he never had, of course). Since 1992, these three have given us many memorable quotes, some of which are now legendary.
In honor of the top three Democrats of the 1990s, I hereby present the Top 10 Quotes of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hillary Clinton, along with some commentary.
10. “The era of big government is over.” —Bill Clinton.
This is from one of the former President’s speeches on the State of the Union. The quote itself is nothing special, but it becomes laughable considering that the person who said it did everything in his power to make big government even bigger.
9. “I have never questioned the experience of my opponent.” —Al Gore.
This Gore fib may have slipped past many of you since the media didn't call him on it. He made this comment in his first debate with George W. Bush, after he and his people had constantly mocked Bush’s 6 years of experience in public office vs. Gore’s 24 years (while at the same time strongly supporting Hillary Clinton’s senate bid and then Jean Carnahan’s candidacy for senate, each of whom had 6 years less experience than Bush—that’s zero for those of you who attended public schools).
8. “I don’t recall.” —Hillary Clinton.
The former First Lady once made this statement 50 times to a House investigating committee. Funny, but supposedly she has an IQ of 100,000, according to her supporters. You’d think that a person with such intelligence would have a slightly better memory.
7. “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” —Bill Clinton.
The master of hair-splitting manages to split the split ends. This statement is from his testimony concerning the Monica Lewinsky affair. Can you imagine hearing such an excuse from a regular person in court? “Your honor, these men accuse me of robbing a bank, but the accusations are false because ‘robbing’ means that the robbing is happening right now. If I were robbing a bank, I wouldn’t be here on the stand next to you right now. I’m talking right now, not robbing anyone. How can I be robbing a bank when I’m here talking to you right now?”
6. “One of our greatest Presidents.” —Al Gore on Bill Clinton.
After the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, the last thing you’d expect to hear are these words. But Al Gore rose to the occasion and somehow found a way to get the words out with a straight face. The scary thing though is that I think he actually believed it.
5. “There has never been a time when I’ve said something I know to be untrue; there has never been a time when I’ve said something untrue.” —Al Gore.
This Gore whopper made its debut during a debate with Bill Bradley during the Democratic primaries. The Bush campaign was shrewd in using this sound bite in one of their commercials, while the Gore campaign claimed that doing so was ‘unfair’. If you don’t like less-than-truthful statements, Mr. Gore, then please don’t make them.
4. “I didn’t inhale.” —Bill Clinton.
When Gov. Clinton was asked about experimenting with marijuana, he said that he tried it, but didn’t inhale. This wishy-washy remark should have tipped everyone off about this guy. If we hadn’t given him a pass on this, we might have been spared Monica Lewinsky, Filegate, Travelgate, etc.
3. “…there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of any law.” —Al Gore.
The former Vice President’s now-infamous defense of his questionable fund raising practices. But of course, the media never pressed him on it. When it’s a 24-year-old DUI charge against a Republican that mysteriously surfaces days before an election, the media is in a frenzy. When it's a Democratic scandal that has yet to be resolved, they simply don't care. And they claim to be objective? We know better.
2. “…this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for President.” —Hillary Clinton.
Who can forget these unforgettable words from the former First Lady on The Today Show, after the Monica Lewinsky story broke? She did her best to act holier-than-thou, trying to take the moral high ground, but in the end she ended up with egg on her face when the facts became known. Mrs. Clinton, the only conspiracy you have to worry about is the one that exposes the truth.
And the #1 quote from the Clinton/Gore/Clinton trio…
1. “I - did - not - have - sexual - relations - with that woman.” —Bill Clinton.
Out of all the Clinton untruths, this one will most likely be the one that lives forever in the American conscience, right next to “I am not a crook.” What makes it even more fascinating is that Clinton said it with such conviction (no pun intended). Remember the way he wagged his finger in our faces and pounded on the podium as he said it? That’s the way an innocent man would react, right? The difference between Nixon and Clinton is that one was a bad liar, the other exceptionally good.
"We want to become a multiracial, multiethnic society...this will arguably be the third great revolution .... to prove that we literally can live without ... having a dominant European culture."
Pat Buchanan, to his credit, replied to Clinton with this:
"For the first 180 years of her existence, America's greatest men strove with all their powers to resist what Clinton embraces and to maintain what Clinton wishes to terminate: a "dominant European culture" of the United States."
"I experimented with marijuana a time or two. And I didn't like it, and didn't inhale, and never tried it again."
"I am going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the - if he - if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not - that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement."
The Clintons never believed that normal standards of behavior applied to them. As Bill Clinton said, "You know, you can make too much of normalcy. A lot of normal people are a**holes."
Incorrect. The difference is that there is some evidence that Nixon had a conscience.
The former never said: "On the impeachment, let me tell you, I am proud of what we did there because I think we saved the Constitution of the United States."
From Robert Bennett --- In terms of size, shape, direction...the President is a normal man."
By then the bar had already been raised out of reach. I knew all I needed to know when the bar was at ankle level and easily stepped over it when he said, "I didn't inhale".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.