Fred Shapiro, associate librarian at Yale Law School, has just released his seventh annual list of the most notable quotations of the year.
Topping the list is Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney‘s “47 percent” comment. Romney’s “binders full of women” quote comes in second.
AP reported Shapiro as saying, “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.”
Romney made the 47 percent comment at a private fundraiser in May that was secretly recorded and posted online. His “binders of women” quote was made when he was justifying his stance on diversification and he was giving an example of how he achieved that as governor in his Massachusetts’s administration.
Obama’s “horse and bayonets” remark made during one of the presidential debates came in at no. 5.
Shapiro picks quotes that are famous, important or revealing of the spirit of the times, not necessarily ones that are the most eloquent or admirable.
The full list follows:
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
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
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
4.
“Please proceed, Governor.”
Barack 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)
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.”
Barack Obama, third presidential debate, Boca Raton, Fla., Oct. 22
6.
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Missouri senatorial candidate Todd Akin, KTVI-TV interview, Aug. 19
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
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
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
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
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
