Eager for Another Watergate
“Every President seems to struggle through a credibility gap at some stage, such as Richard Nixon with Watergate, Ronald Reagan with Iran-contra, and Bill Clinton with the Whitewater affair. What did he know, and when did he know it? Now it's George W. Bush's turn to answer Washington's favorite question.”
— Kenneth T. Walsh and Kevin Whitelaw in the May 27 edition of U.S. News & World Report.
Ruing Bush's Insults & Hard Line
White House correspondent Terry Moran: “The President today took a hard rhetorical line on Fidel Castro, hurling insults at the Cuban leader.” President George W. Bush: “-a relic from another era who has turned a beautiful island into a prison.”
— ABC's World News Tonight, May 20.
Problem Is Embargo, Not Dictator
“Former President Jimmy Carter today became the first U.S. President to visit Cuba since Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Mr. Carter's private visit comes amid new debate over the U.S. trade embargo that has fueled a bitter feud between the U.S. and Cuba for 40 years.”
— ABC's Carole Simpson on the May 12 World News Tonight/Sunday.
CNN Touts Castro's “Successes”
“There are a lot of stories about the struggles Cuban people face here. Stories about the lack of things, the lack of cars, the lack of human rights, the lack of certain foods. But if you go asking Cubans, and even if you look at statistics from international groups, you'll find there are some areas where Cubans have made successes.
“According to a United Nations study, Cuba's regular schools rank at the top in Latin America. Old mansions were converted to classrooms. Under pictures of gun-toting revolutionaries, children are taught Cuban history along with computer skills, English and all the basics. For a developing nation, the literacy rate is exceptional, at 96 percent according to the UN.”
— CNN's Kate Snow, Live From Havana, May 13.
…Like Free Health Care for All
“Another success Cubans point to: health care. Beginning in neighborhoods like this one, inside a house or an apartment building, you'll find a community family doctor. In this doctor's case, he serves 550 patients. Other doctors serve up to 800 people, but the bottom line is every Cuban has a primary care physician.
“Doctors get to know their patients and even make house calls. They emphasize prevention and follow up. Again, according to the UN, 96 percent of one-year-olds are immunized. Life expectancy is just one year less than the States at 76. Cuba may not have the nicest facilities or equipment, medicine is sometimes in short supply, but everyone has access and the concept of paying is completely foreign.”
— Snow in the same story.
Freedom Can Wait
“The day after Jimmy Carter's speech, no one in Havana's fruit market is demanding free elections. Carter told Cubans they have the right to change the Castro government….But at the market, Rolando Toledo is more interested in Carter's call to end the 40-year-old trade embargo….Most Cubans want better relations with the U.S. but don't see Carter's speech as a watershed event. For them, economic change is more urgent than political freedom.”
— Andrea Mitchell on the May 15 NBC Nightly News.
For all the issues of Notable Quotables from this year: http://www.mediaresearch.org/notablequotables/nqwelcome.asp
(This update courtesy of the Media Research Center.)
