“I am not going to give into sentiments that I think degrade the office of the president and that degrade the debate and the culture of our country. So if you come up to me calling the president a socialist, a Muslim, you’re talking to the wrong guy," – Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
(Hat tip: Matt Corley)
"[W]hen the going gets tough, the president’s favored modus operandi is to resort to the most disingenuous rhetoric he can get away with. He seems to operate on the presupposition that no one is paying close enough attention to the hypocrisy and half-truths. But there are plenty of people who do—the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community, our enemies, and many informed voters who cringe at the unseemly sight of a war waged against those who protected us. They all understand the political gamesmanship at work here and the lack of real concern by the president for our intelligence community," – Jennifer Rubin, conflating a concern for the rule of law with a "war on the CIA".
"Moscow believes we just signed over a new lease on Eastern Europe. And we didn't even get a tin of caviar. Will the Obama-Putin Act go down in history as the post-modern Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact?" – Ralph Peters, off his rocker. For some, Russia is always the Soviet Union; and America always has to be its enemy.
"I want, not for personally for me, but for working Americans, to have a option, that if they don’t like their health insurance, if it’s too expensive, they can’t afford it, if the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus for the folks," – Bill O'Reilly, showing that he is only 80 percent Hannity.
"Nobody is saying we’re blowing children up or anything like the Taliban. But this is the same kind of tactic being used now in America," – Glenn Beck, on former president Jimmy Carter saying that Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst may have been motivated by racism.
"Despite the outcry that President Obama has sold out the Europeans and caved to the Russians by cancelling missile defenses in Europe, it was the right thing to do. Those defenses were not going to work (or work well enough or soon enough to matter in any major crisis with Iran), and the diplomatic price we were paying for them was far out of proportion to any small gains we might have made by annoying the Russians or reassuring the Czechs and the Poles," – Tom Nichols, NRO.
"Republicans can't win without rallying the plurality of Americans who prefer conservatism to liberalism, but they also can't triumph (anywhere) with that group alone. Like Democrats, the GOP needs moderate votes for victory, and the only way to get them without sacrificing principle or core conservative voters involves deploying the same combination that has worked before: maintaining clearly conservative positions, but with those values presented in a manner that's optimistic, constructive, reasonable and, yes, moderate," – Michael Medved, USA Today.
“My primary interest was the music. I was struck by the contrast of the two styles – Biden’s and Palin’s – and the music in their voices. Of course I have strong political sentiments, but this is not about my sentiments,” – Curtis Hughes, whose new opera on the Biden-Palin debate premiers in Boston this weekend.
"And so I guess we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside intimidating people. … That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked, and Congressman Wilson represents it," – Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA).
"The book, "Your Life-Your Choices," had been deep-sixed by the Bush administration. It was reissued by the Obama administration. The book includes various "exercises" for vets that suggest more than a gentle nudge toward death. How about a sharp kick," – Ken Blackwell, Family Research Council, joining the Obama-As-Euthanizer-Of-Heroes meme.
The Dish 