Insight: “It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.” —Voltaire (1694-1778)

Observations: “The problem with Obamacare in a nutshell is that on one hand, by imposing motley regulations and mandates, it increases the price of health insurance, and on the other hand, by providing subsidies, it tries to hide the cost — but not enough.” —Rich Lowry

Double standards: “The state itself in a democratic, civilized society should itself not be involved in the murder of other Americans. … We must end capital punishment in this country.” —Bernie Sanders (“Question: how can we begin to explain the moral compass of liberals like Sanders who call imposing the death penalty on adults duly convicted of heinous crimes ‘murder,’ but refer to the killing of innocent, unborn babies as ‘choice’ or other grotesque euphemisms like ‘women’s health’?” —Newsbusters’ Mark Finkelstein)

Non Compos Mentis: “I acknowledge that I was biologically born white to white parents, but I identify as black.” —Rachel Dolezal, former president of the Spokane NAACP — that would be the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Kicking the can: “[L]ast week, Democrats and Republicans came together to set up a responsible, long-term budget process, and what we now see is a budget that reflects our values, that grows our economy, creates jobs, keeps America safe. … And there’s no better Christmas present for the American people because this will allow the kind of stability and will allow the economy to grow.” —Barack Obama (Yep, it’s a great gift until Santa demands it back.)

Alpha Jackass: “Every one of these [Republican presidential] candidates say, ‘Obama’s weak. Putin’s kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin, he’s going to straighten out.’ … And then it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators. … If you can’t handle those guys, you know, then I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.” —Barack Obama (First, the candidates handled the moderators quite well, actually, and second, has there ever been a more arrogant and childish president?)

And last… “Guy who watched over aggressive Russian expansion and oversaw largest data hack in history by the Chinese has opinions about CNBC debate. … President who sits down with a woman who bathes in cereal probably shouldn’t poke fun at anyone taking hard questions.” —Stephen Miller