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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Senate Guru: Risch Misquotes Reagan

The historically inaccurate quote of the day comes from Republican Senate candidate Jim Risch:

"You know what Ronald Reagan said? Numbers are stubborn things," Risch said.

No, Jim, Ronald Reagan didn't say that. Reagan said something else - and what he said, he wasn't trying to say. What he was trying to say was a quote from our second President, John Adams:

John Adams, our second president, famously said: "Facts are stubborn things." In a 1988 slip of the tongue, Ronald Reagan said: "Facts are stupid things."

See: Gigantic Wednesday night rundown/Senate Guru

Question: Are missteps and "misquotes" by politicians anything more than good fodder for chuckles. Or do they negatively affect their campaigns?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.