Top Quotes of the '00s

David Sirota culls the top 10 quotes of the decade that speak to the nation's shortcomings. See the full list at Salon here. A sampling:

• "It doesn't matter." Dick Cheney, 2006, when asked about polls showing a majority of Americans opposed the Iraq war. It's a "sign the ruling class truly does not care about the demands of the public," writes Sirota.
• "I didn't campaign on the public option." President Obama, December 2009. His presidential platform, however, promised the chance to "enroll in (a) new public plan."

• "$500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly if there is no bonus." Wall Street pay consultant James Reda, February 2009. Showing "just how totally out of touch the super-rich really are."
• "Bring 'em on." President Bush, 2003, in a taunt to al-Qaeda. Being tough apparently means "flippantly sacrificing young American lives."
• "As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know they're some things we do not know. But there're also unknown unknowns; the ones we don't know we don't know." Donald Rumsfeld, 2002. In other words, the US didn't have a clue in Iraq.

(More best of the decade stories.)