Alan Colmes: My Pick for 2010 Quote of the Year

(Dec. 20) -- The notable quotes from 2010 have come out, courtesy of Fred Shapiro of Yale Law School. No. 1 on the hit parade, tied with BP's Tony Hayward saying, "I'd like my life back," was Christine O'Donnell's "I am not a witch." What a way to begin a campaign ad! Imagine running for the U.S. Senate and the first thing you have to do is convince your constituency you don't have a coven. "I am not a crook" didn't work out for Richard Nixon, by the way. O'Donnell made the list twice, the other quote being, "You mean to tell me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?"

While these certainly deserve special recognition, none is my favorite. Nor are any of these other choice quotes from 2010.

There's Sharron Angle, who infamously said, "If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies." Angle added that we have domestic enemies in Congress. Had she been elected, my word of advice for anyone serving with her: Duck! Pair her words with Sarah Palin's, "Don't retreat; instead, reload," you've got some lovely imagery, if you like targets.

To write down all of Angle's witticisms would require the destruction of a forest, but include saying she'd answer policy questions when she's the senator, telling the unemployed they're spoiled and that as a senator, she wouldn't be in the business of creating jobs.

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has enough not-so-bon mots for a book, beginning with saying Barack Obama doesn't say God enough, calling the president infantile and declaring that all the GOP should do if it won the House back is issue subpoenas. When the president went to the G-20 summit, Bachmann found a way to bash him by saying she doesn't want the United States to be part of a global economy. Nice.

Rep. Steve King of Iowa is another profile in inanity. He said if we don't defend marriage, if gay marriage becomes legal, our children will be "raised in warehouses." This same genius said Obama favors the black person by default, and he wouldn't be surprised if he keeps bringing small quantities of Muslims into the country. You know, one here, one there, and next thing you know there are millions of them. Oh, wait, there already are millions of them in America, and King probably thinks at least one of them lives in the White House.

Then there are the random crazies, who only rear their empty heads occasionally, such as Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., who, while visiting a tool-making factory, told the owners, "If Obama is president, maybe you need to spend more time developing a gun lock, a trigger lock." Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia said people would die because of energy legislation. Keep in mind, we're just talking about elected officials here. Forget about so-called tea party leaders and random wingnuts.

And then, in a special category, is Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer who said that because of illegal immigration, there were beheadings in the Arizona desert, a statement she eventually had to retract.

These hard-to-fathom quotes only scratch the surface of what's been said during the past year. But none ranks as the best of the year in my book.

No, that award goes to another quote from Gov. Brewer. It was during her opening comments at the beginning of her only election debate, when she began by saying, "Great to be here, and thank you all for watching us tonight. I have ... uh ... done so much, and I just cannot believe that we have changed everything since I have become your governor. ... We have cut the budget, balanced the budget and are moving forward. We are doing everything that we could possibly do..."

That's right, Jan Brewer's most quotable moment was when she froze for about 10 seconds.

That silence was golden. That is why it is my nomination for quote of the year. Just think of how wonderful it would have been if that silence had been observed by everyone else I just mentioned.