MRC's Notable Quotables: Oozing Over Obama's 'Keen, Analytical Intelligence'

Now online: the January 25 edition of Notable Quotables, MRC’s bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous quotes in the liberal media. This week, as President Obama delivers his final State of the Union address, PBS's panel oozes over his "keen, analytical intelligence," with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin saying Obama's speech "reminded me of George Washington's Farewell Address."

Meanwhile, PBS's Tavis Smiley slams GOP frontrunner Donald Trump as a "racial arsonist," CNN's Erin Burnett thinks today's Republicans are so extreme they "would hate" Ronald Reagan, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews slams conservative radio host Mark Levin as "one of the most distasteful human beings out there." Highlights are posted below; the entire issue is posted online with 23 quotes (five with video) at www.MRC.org.

Obama’s Speech Just Like George Washington’s Farewell

“It [Obama’s State of the Union speech] reminded me — I mean, this is going to sound ridiculous, like I always think about George Washington, but it reminded me of George Washington’s Farewell Address.”
— Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin on PBS’s Charlie Rose, January 12.
 

PBS Panel Oozes Over “Keen” and “Analytical” Obama

 PBS’s Charlie Rose: “I want to raise two big issues about him that are fascinating to me and, Jon, all of you. How smart is he? What’s the sense of — is he one of our brightest presidents?”
Longtime Newsweek editor Jon Meacham: “Absolutely. I think so and I think it has the pluses and minuses.
Rose: “I’m asking from a real standpoint.”
Meacham: “It’s a keen analytical intelligence.”
— Exchange on Charlie Rose, January 12.

Professor Obama Forced to “Teach” GOP How to Govern

“You have to remember that no president has faced a greater fog of misinformation and outright lies in the public sphere than this president....The lessons that he has had to teach, the elementary lessons of governing that he has struggled to teach this Congress is something that no other president has ever had to go through.”
— Host Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC’s The Last Word, January 12.

CNN Anchor Admits: Press Mostly “Agrees” with Obama

“From my perspective, I wanted an intelligent discussion. I wanted him [President Obama] to actually address people who disagree with him, not just people who agree with him as so often happens at, you know, a presidential news conference or presidential announcement.”     
— CNN anchor Anderson Cooper discussing what he wanted out of a January 7 town hall meeting with President Obama on guns.

Donald Trump: “Racial Arsonist”

“Trump is still, to my mind at least, an unrepentant, irascible, religious and racial arsonist. And so, when we talk about how Trump is rising in the poll, you can’t do that absent the kind of campaign he’s running, the issues he’s raising.”
— PBS host Tavis Smiley on the January 10 edition of ABC’s This Week.

Gleeful at Ted Cruz “Being Hoisted on His Own Petard”

“Politically, what’s happening to him [Ted Cruz] is called being hoisted on his own petard. He was the divider. That was what his role was. ‘I don’t like these other Republicans. I don’t like these people coming across the border. I don’t like what’s going on with Obama’s birth certificate.’ Now, it’s being used on him by Trump who plays by even looser rules than ordinary politicians do.”
— CNN’s New Day co-host Chris Cuomo, January 13.

Today’s GOP Would “Hate” Ronald Reagan

“It’s amazing here. In one debate, 30 times, and I was watching last night, and I kept hearing it, and I kept hearing it. And, you know, yes, Ronald Reagan famous, right, the ‘Shining City on a Hill,’ right, the aspirational, inspirational vision of America that he put forth. Yet, he tripled the national debt. Yet, he grew government. Yet, he raised taxes. These guys would hate that guy.”
— Anchor Erin Burnett discussing the Republican presidential contenders on CNN’s OutFront, January 15.

Enough About ISIS — What About “White Terrorism” and “Reparations”?

“The danger of ISIS is clearly a major threat to American safety, but personally, I know many minorities who are much more concerned with racist attacks at the local level than radical Islamists. So just — question to put it plainly since, often, issues of race are tiptoed, do you believe that white terrorism and extremism is as much a threat to some in this country as something like ISIS?”
— Fusion’s Iowa Black and Brown Forum co-debate moderator Rembert Browne to Hillary Clinton, January 11.

“Do you think 2016 is the year — kind of on the federal level — we should start studying reparations?”
— Browne to Clinton, same forum.

Chris Matthews Slams “Distasteful” Mark Levin

Host Chris Matthews: “There’s something strange about Cruz. Has Trump got to him with this ‘nasty’ comment that now Rush Limbaugh is now defending him? Imagine having Rush Limbaugh saying, ‘Oh, no. He’s not nasty.’ This is Rush Limbaugh as your character witness.”
NBC correspondent Katy Tur: “I think it’s Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin are defending Ted Cruz.”
Matthews: “Oh my God! Mark Levin is one of the most distasteful human beings out there.”
— Exchange between Matthews and Tur on MSNBC’s Hardball, January 18.

Ellen Endorses “Smart” Hillary, Decries Double Standard

“I’ve said it before that you are held to a completely different standard than everyone else that seems to be, you know, held to. And you know what a supporter I am. I think that you’re as smart as can be, I think you are qualified, I think you stand for everything that I want in a president.”
— Daytime talk show host Ellen Degeneres to Hillary Clinton on her January 11 program.

DiCaprio’s Panic: “Too Late” to Save Earth from Climate Horror?

“The big question is are we too late? That's been the pondering question for everyone. I know we should all remain optimistic and I want to remain optimistic....But we do know that the scientific community has been screaming out loud for decades. And other interests have stifled their voice and manipulated this conversation. And it’s a real shame.”
— Actor Leonardo DiCaprio on PBS’s Charlie Rose, discussing the 2015 climate change treaty in Paris, January 7.

To read the entire January 25 edition of Notable Quotables, please visit www.MRC.org.