Times Watch Quotes of Note 2007 -- The NYT's Worst Quotes of the Year

It's a Christmas tradition: Times Watch has selected its worst Quotes of the Year from The New York Times for 2007. Here's a sampling of the categories and some of the most bizarre examples of liberal bias. For all the quotes, plus the picks of our Times-dissecting judges for their "favorite" quote of the year, visit Times Watch.

Oh, Those Awful Conservatives 

"Could adversity temper a jurisprudence that critics of the chief justice have discerned as bloodless and unduly distant from the messy reality of the lives of ordinary people who fail to file their appeals on time?" -- Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse's August 1 "Supreme Court Memo," the day after Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure at his house.

 

                                         Left-Wing Love-Fest on

43^rd Street

The first day of the post-Rosie O'Donnell era on 'The View' television show has come and gone, and by any fair accounting, an often useful provocateur has left the building. In her final months on the air, she mostly dropped her public torment of an attention-starved, orange-haired real estate developer. Instead, she opened debates with others about terrorism, peace and citizenship….Few civic virtues are as useful as skepticism, though it is rarely honored until too late. The citizens who questioned the validity of the case for war in Iraq were widely scorned or ignored in 2002 and 2003 by the government and the news media." -- Reporter-columnist Jim Dwyer, May 30. O'Donnell has expressed doubt about the events of September 11, saying on "The View" that "I do believe that it's the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel." 

                                   

                                                       Loving the (Illegal) Alien

 

"So why would illegal immigration be a cause célèbre in a place like this, the whitest Congressional district in Colorado? Residents and local political leaders say the answer comes down, at least partly, to words like 'order' and 'stability.' Those concerns may mask a certain amount of bigotry or bias." -- Reporter Kirk Johnson, June 24.

 

Just Plain Goofy

"Given those results, a new McDonald's menu item is a bit of a stunner. Remember Supersize sodas? They're back, except this time the chain is trying a new name. Meet the 'Hugo,' a 42-ounce drink now available for as little as 89 cents in some markets. A Hugo soda contains about 410 calories. McDonald's might as well have called it the Tubbo. Making matters worse, Hugo ads are available in several languages, making sure that minorities -- who are disproportionately affected by the obesity epidemic -- are aware of the budget beverage." -- Business reporter Andrew Martin, July 22.

 

Finally: Us, Biased?

 

"...we are agnostic as to where a story may lead; we do not go into a story with an agenda or a pre-conceived notion. We do not manipulate or hide facts to advance an agenda. We strive to preserve our independence from political and economic interests, including our own advertisers. We do not work in the service of a party, or an industry, or even a country. When there are competing views of a situation, we aim to reflect them as clearly and fairly as we can." – From Executive Editor Bill Keller's Hugo Young Memorial Lecture, delivered in London November 29.