Quotes & Quips

[Chreteau]

'Put your feet down!'

"As you know, the Bush family has a summer home in neighboring Kennebunkport. A couple summers ago, we were visiting George's parents to celebrate the 4th of July. George woke up at 6:00 a.m., early in the morning as usual, and he padded downstairs for a cup of coffee. And then he went into his parents' bedroom and he sat on the sofa and put his feet up.

And all of a sudden, Barbara Bush hollered, 'Put your feet down!' And George's dad said, 'For Goodness sake, Barbara, he's the President of the United States.' And Bar replied, 'I don't care, I don't want his feet on my coffee table.' So you see, even Presidents have to listen to their mothers."

First Lady Laura Bush, speaking at a Victory 2004 Rally in Nashua, New Hampshire, October 21, 2004.

Kerry Misunderstands War on Terror

"That is another example of his fundamental misunderstanding of the war on terrorism. Zarqawi is in Iraq. He is someone who just the other day pledged his allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Zarqawi was in Iraq prior to the decision to go in and remove Saddam Hussein's regime from power. We are fighting Zarqawi and his network so that we don't have to fight them here at home."

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan at a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, responding to a question regarding Senator Kerry's comment, "War of Iraq is not part of the war on terrorism," October 20, 2004.

Excerpts from "The United States' Disappeared"

"[Ibn al-Shaikh] al-Libi was also a principal source for Bush administration claims that al-Qaeda collaborated wtih Saddam Hussein, particularly the assertion by Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations that Iraq had provided training in 'poisons and deadly gasses' for al-Qaeda."

Cited by a Human Rights Watch report in October 2004, originally reported by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, November 24, 2003.

"The British Sunday Telegraph, basing its information on a British government dossier on Iraq, said that Abu Zubair, at the time linked to Saddam Hussein, was trained in Iraq. This report also said that in the 1990s, Zubair's 'Supporters of Islam' organization was sent by Saddam Hussein into norther Iraq to 'assassinate leading Kurds and to build chemical warfare facilities.'"

Cited by a Human Rights Watch report in October 2004, originally reported by David Bamber and Caroline Overington, The Sunday Telegraph, September 16, 2002.

UN Oil-for-Food Scandal

"I think it is a real problem for the United Nations right now. And I know that Secretary-General Annan realizes this and that's why he's put, with our concurrence, Paul Colker to head this commission, a very distinguished American. And Paul is hard at work on this and I'm sure he'll get to the bottom of it."

Secretary of State Colin Powell, responding to a question on the "Tony Snow Show" regarding Saddam Hussein's theft from the Oil-for-Food program, October 22, 2004.