Quotes of the Morning: Curse You Bill Clinton!

“At home, the job of a president is to help cultures change. The culture needs to be changed. I call it, so people can understand what I'm talking about, changing the culture from one that says, ‘If it feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else,’ to a culture in which each of us understands we're responsible for the decisions we make in life. I call it the responsibility era.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, May 1, 2004

“Well, the good news is that Fearless Leader is apparently doing his job. The culture in Washington is changing. Unfortunately it isn’t really changing for the better. Fearless Leader seems to have some issues with choosing the right people though..”
-Skippy

“Bernie Kerik is one of the most accomplished and effective leaders of law enforcement in America. In his career, he has served as an enlisted military police officer in Korea, a jail warden in New Jersey, a beat cop in Manhattan, New York City corrections commissioner, and as New York's 40th police commissioner -- an office once held by Teddy Roosevelt. In every position, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to justice, a heart for the innocent, and a record of great success. “
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, December 3, 2004

“We don't care if your nanny was an illegal immigrant. We don't care if you didn't pay income taxes for her. We forgive you, Bernie, because you allegedly have what Washington desperately needs in this era of tepid, tedious bureaucrats -- multiple mistresses, mob ties, $6 million in dubious stock profits on stun guns, an arrest warrant that was never served and, best of all, a ‘secret love nest’ that the New York Daily News reports you used for ‘passionate liaisons.’"
-Washington Post, Essay, December 14, 2004

“Most recently Bush’s former head of the FDA stepped down due to some little bookkeeping errors.”
-Skippy

“Former FDA chief Lester Crawford has agreed to plead guilty to charges of failing to disclose a financial interest in PepsiCo Inc. and other firms regulated by his agency, his lawyer said Monday.
The Justice Department accused the former head of the Food and Drug Administration in court papers of falsely reporting that he had sold stock in companies when he continued holding shares in the firms governed by FDA rules.”
-Associated Press, October 16, 2006

‘Still, this isn’t the first time that people appointed by Fearless Leader and his Legion of Doom have been in trouble.”
-Skippy

“The CIA leak investigation is ‘not over,’ special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said Friday after announcing charges against I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.
Fitzgerald said he will be keeping the investigation ‘open to consider other matters.’ But, he said, ‘the substantial bulk of the work in this investigation is concluded.’
Libby resigned Friday after a federal grand jury indicted him on five charges related to the leak probe: one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements.”
-CNN, October 29, 2005

“A federal jury found former White House aide David H. Safavian guilty yesterday of lying and obstructing justice, making him the highest-ranking government official to be convicted in the spreading scandal involving disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Safavian, a former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, was convicted in U.S. District Court here of covering up his many efforts to assist Abramoff in acquiring two properties controlled by the GSA, and also of concealing facts about a lavish weeklong golf trip he took with Abramoff to Scotland and London in the summer of 2002.”
-Washington Post, June 21, 2006

“Former White House adviser Claude A. Allen took responsibility yesterday for shoplifting from stores in Montgomery County last year, saying that the months leading up to the thefts were marked by huge stress and sleep deprivation.
Allen, 45, who came from humble roots, put himself through law school and held several prominent government jobs before becoming President Bush's top aide on domestic policy in 2005, wept in court after thanking relatives and friends for standing by him. He pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor theft.”
-Washington Post, August 5, 2006

“The one thing that we do know though is this: The buck stops before it makes it to the current White House. Somehow this is all Clinton’s fault. He is probably responsible for all of the Foley and Hastert scandals in the House too..”
-Skippy

“The FBI raided the homes of Rep. Curt Weldon's daughter and a close friend Monday in an investigation of whether the congressman improperly helped the pair win lobbying and consulting contracts.
Agents searched four locations in the Philadelphia area and two in Jacksonville, Fla., said Debbie Weierman, an FBI spokeswoman in Washington. The congressman's home and his offices were not among the locations searched, she said.”
-Associated Press, October 17, 2006

“..and Weldon. Curse you Bill Clinton! How dare you be responsible for all of this! How could you have made these poor, innocent Republicans do these terrible things?”
-Skippy

“The current Congress has shown no inclination to investigate the Bush administration. Last year The Boston Globe offered an illuminating comparison: when Bill Clinton was president, the House took 140 hours of sworn testimony into whether Mr. Clinton had used the White House Christmas list to identify possible Democratic donors. But in 2004 and 2005, a House committee took only 12 hours of testimony on the abuses at Abu Ghraib.”
-Paul Krugman, October 16, 2006