The Patriot Post® · Monday Short Cuts

The Gipper: “With all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope. We have every right to dream heroic dreams.”

Donkey fight: “Do I regret not being president? Yes. I was the best qualified.” —Joe Biden, with a clear shot at Hillary Clinton

Village Idiots: “It is wrong to describe [last week’s terrorist attack] as ‘Islamic terrorism.’ It is ‘Islamist terrorism.’ It is a perversion of a great faith.” —British Prime Minister Theresa May

For the record: “[Republicans] picked the wrong issue at the wrong time and pursued it in the wrong way. (‘Constituent, should we focus on a better tax system or on health care?’ ‘Um, if you go with health care can it include suicide coverage?’)” —Peggy Noonan

You’re not helping: “Of course, ObamaCare has serious problems. Deductibles are too high. Premiums are too high. The cost of health care is going up at a much faster rate than it should. Ideally, where we should be going is to join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all people as a right. And that’s why I’m going to introduce a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program.” —Bernie Sanders

Braying Jackass: “As long as they say no more repeal. That’s a loser. Seventeen percent of Americans liked Trumpcare. That’s it. They didn’t want it. And stop undermining ACA. And we’ll work with them. We have ideas, they have ideas, to try to improve Obamacare. We never said it was perfect. We always said we’d work with them to improve it. We just said repeal was off the table.” —Chuck Schumer’s conditions for working with Republicans on health care

And last… “Congressional Republicans would do well in the future to assume that the president’s only real role in health-care reform is going to be signing the bill in a big, beautiful Rose Garden ceremony.” —Kevin Williamson