Top ten Quotes of 2012.

"Please don't quote me, please don't quote me, please don't quote me!"

Fred Shapiro, associate librarian at Yale Law School, released his seventh annual list of the most notable quotations of the year.

Here is what he had to say about them:  

"Debate remarks and gaffes actually seemed to play an important role in the ups and downs of the election campaign and may even have affected the ultimate outcome of the election," Shapiro said.

And here they are. (With links to the source as well):

1. "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what ... who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. ... These are people who pay no income tax. ... and so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives." Mitt Romney, remarks at private fundraiser, Boca Raton, Fla., May 17 (Source)

2. "We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet (in Massachusetts). I went to a number of women's groups and said, "Can you help us find folks?" and they brought us whole binders full of women." Mitt Romney, second presidential debate, Hempstead, N.Y., Oct. 16 (Source)

3. "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business — you didn't build that." Barack Obama, remarks at campaign appearance, Roanoke, Va., July 13 (Source)

4. "Please proceed, Governor." Obama, second presidential debate, Hempstead, N.Y., Oct. 16 (lead-in to Romney's denial that Obama had called Libya attack an act of terrorism) (Source) (My favorite!)


5. "You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines." Obama, third presidential debate, Boca Raton, Fla., Oct. 22 (Source)

6. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Midsouri senatorial candidate Todd Akin, KTVI-TV interview, Aug. 19 (Source)

7. "You hit a reset button for the fall campaign; everything changes. It's almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again." Romney senior campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, CNN interview, March 21 (Source)

8. "I'm an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability." Socialite Jill Kelley, telephone call to a 911 dispatcher, Tampa, Fla., Nov. 11, about media crews that came to her home as news broke of her involvement in the scandal over the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus (Source)

9. "Oppan Gangnam style." South Korean rapper PSY, "Gangnam Style" (song) 

10 (tie) "Under current law, on January 1st, 2013, there is going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases." Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testimony at House Committee on Financial Services hearing, Feb. 29 (Source)

10 (tie) "I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge." Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, WMAZ-TV television interview about Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Nov. 21 (Source)

10 (tie) "I have a job to do. ... If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don't know me." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Fox News interview about Hurricane Sandy, Oct. 30 (Source)

Boy does THAT take me back. There were a lot of news made with some of those remarks, as well as history, and it can be argued that one or two may very well have helped to change the outcome of this last Presidential election.

So, which ones were YOUR favorites? 

When has a complete lack of comprehension about a given topic EVER kept Sarah Palin from providing her opinion?

From Huffington Post:

In an unusual detour, Sarah Palin waded into monetary policy Monday, lashing out at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and urging him to "cease and desist" his attempt to jumpstart the economic recovery by committing to buy up to $900 billion in U.S. government debt.

In prepared remarks to be delivered to a trade association in Phoenix, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate said she is "deeply concerned" with the Fed's plan, announced last week, arguing that the nation's central bank would be "printing [money] out of thin air" and that it is "far from certain" to "even work." The argument was unusual in that monetary policy is supposed to be immune to political pressure.

You know what is even more unusual?  The fact that ANYBODY would give Sarah Palin a platform to discuss a topic that she is completely unqualified to provide an opinion on. 

Palin, whose monetary policy credentials could not be deduced Monday, addressed one side of the issue in what is likely to be an appeal to the Tea Party movement, which is deeply suspicious of the central bank.

Oh, now I get it.  Somebody told Palin that the Teabaggers don't trust the Fed and so she feels compelled to weigh in on the subject in an attempt to garner more of their support for 2012.

You know to be honest I am not exactly sure that the statements attributed to Palin (You don't think she actually wrote them do you?) are completely wrong here.  What the right thing to do to stimulate the American economy is a very complicated question, and there are arguments both for and against what Bernanke is planning to do.

The reason I point out that Palin should not be the one offering her opinion on this matter, is because she does not have the intellect to really grasp the complexities that are facing those whose job it is to fix the economy that the Republicans broke.

And the facts are that THIS opinion has been spoon fed to Palin for her to broadcast to the Teabaggers in order to agitate their emotions and continue to turn them against the current administration.  I doubt very seriously that Sister Sarah has ANY idea exactly what the words in the speech she is about to give even mean, and I would love it if she opened the floor to a Q&A after she finished giving it.

But of course we all know that she won't.  In fact she can't.  If she did, it would quickly become crystal clear that she had no earthly idea what in the hell she was talking about.

This is what the people supporting Sarah Palin's potential run for the White House in 2012 need from her.  They need somebody who is attractive, who connects with the average ignorant American, and who will put a pretty face on their anti-government propaganda.  Essentially it is the same old pile of mooseshit wrapped in a new and relatively attractive wrapper.

There ARE those who could offer a negative opinion concerning the approach that Bernanke is using to stimulate the economy who I would readily listen to, and perhaps even respect.  But Sarah Palin is CERTAINLY not one of those people.  And until she can show her credentials, or provide a resume laying out her years of experience  in this area, I would suggest that nobody else give her the benefit of the doubt either.