quotables

McCain says fish love oil rigs

“And by the way, on that oil rig — and I’m sure you’ve probably heard this story — you look down, and there’s fish everywhere! There’s fish everywhere! Yeah, the fish love to be around those rigs. So not only can it be helpful for energy, it can be helpful for some pretty good meals […]

Asked about oil’s fungibility, Palin says … um, something

“Oil and coal? Of course, it’s a fungible commodity and they don’t flag, you know, the molecules, where it’s going and where it’s not. But in the sense of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So, I believe that what Congress is going […]

Hillary Clinton stumps for public transportation

“Across America places that thought there would never be much demand for public transit are now finding that there is. We can’t keep burdening public transit systems without giving them the money they need to run.” — Hillary Clinton (who introduced the Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act and testified about it before the Senate […]

Carl Pope on Big Oil politics

“The message ‘You’re too close to Big Oil’ will trump the message ‘I’m for drilling off the coast’ every time.” “The oil wing of the Republican party is like the mafia or the Crips or the Bloods — once you get in you can never get out.” — Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, on […]

Quayle’s brain

Advice that readers of The New York Times should consider every Monday: When asked about Kristol’s suggestion that Powell might attend the Democratic National Convention, former Reagan White House Chief of Staff and Powell confidante Ken Duberstein took a swipe at Kristol. “Consider the source,” said Duberstein, referring to Kristol who once served as a […]

Drilling for Jesus

“[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she’s just trying to save the planet. We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet — we didn’t need Nancy Pelosi to do that.” — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)

Annals of demand response

“Fleet plans are made months and months in advance. We’re going to work to get our fleet more in line with what consumers are demanding. But the shift is so quick and revolutionary that we weren’t able to respond quickly.” — Chris Payne, spokesman for rental agency Dollar Thrifty Automotive, commenting on the sudden surge […]

Stopping MTR

“Now there is an increasingly powerful and vocal national movement to stop mountaintop removal [mining]. I’m saying we’re going to have it stopped by the end of next year … the end of 2009.” — Matt Wasson, director of programs for Appalachian Voices

Obama loves high-speed rail

“If you think about the Midwest, think about right here, what we’ve got is all kind of towns that we could connect. All of these cities are, they basically take in the air about 45 minutes to an hour to fly. But by the time you get to the airport, take off your shoes, get […]