"Quotes" etched in the public's memory

Yesterday I was thinking about the media's power to shape public perception--making myths into political "realities" . . . then I read how a non-quote from a Republican was the most "memorable" "quote" for the Yale Law faculty member who compiles an annual list of Most Memorable quotes. ("Palin tops list of memorable quotes"). From the report:

Sarah Palin lost the election, but she's a winner to a connoisseur of quotations.

The Republican vice presidential candidate and her comedic doppelganger, Tina Fey, took the top two spots in this year's list of most memorable quotes compiled by Fred R. Shapiro.

First place was "I can see Russia from my house!" spoken in satire of Palin's foreign policy credentials by Fey on "Saturday Night Live."

Palin actual quote was: "They're our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

. . . .

President-elect Barack Obama didn't make the list, not even for his much-criticized remark in which he said some small-town Americans "cling to guns or religion."

"To me it didn't seem like a very remarkable or very foolish quote," said Shapiro, who describes himself as a liberal Democrat. "Ultimately I decided against it, but it was a close call."

Yeah, I'm sure it was.