Paul Harvey

For the Stuckist artist, see Paul Harvey (artist).

Catchphrases and Quotes

• "Hello, Americans! This is Paul Harvey!" ... followed immediately by
• "Stand by for news!" ... or ...
• "You know what the news is. Now you're going to hear ... the rrrrest of the story!"
• "Page— —two (three, four, etc.)" - Signaling a commercial break.
• To Richard Nixon, on the Vietnam War: "Mr. President, I love you, but you're wrong."
• "Retiring is just practicing up to be dead. That doesn't take any practice."
• "Every pessimist who ever lived has been buried in an unmarked grave. Tomorrow has always been better than today, and it always will be."
• To Larry King in a 2003 interview: "The best time is right now."
• "Yes, It's true. Just like your local True Value Hardware store"
• On his wife: "She is still one of the daintiest, most feminine creatures I've ever known."
• "In our 'For What It's Worth' Department..." - Lead-in to funny story closing the newscast.
• "When the salad plates were whisked away and the entrée brought in, he leaned over toward me and said, 'Page ... two,' just like he does on the radio." —Garrison Keillor when he met Harvey at a "stuffed-shirt" dinner in Chicago
• "And remember, it's His birthday - - not yours." (Traditional Christmas Eve closer)
• "We hope you'll do better - - you could do worse." (Annual message to graduating seniors extolling the accomplishments of their parents' generation.)
• "...and now you know the Rest of the Story."

• "Paul Harvey.— —Good day!" (intonation rising significantly on "day")
• "We sent men with rifles into Afghanistan and Iraq and kept our best weapons in their silos. We're standing there dying, daring to do nothing decisive because we've declared ourselves to be better than our terrorist enemies--more moral, more civilized. Our image is at stake, we insist. But we didn't come this far because we're made of sugar candy. Once upon a time, we elbowed our way onto and across this continent by giving smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. That was biological warfare. And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this land from whomever. And we grew prosperous. And yes, we greased the skids with the sweat of slaves. So it goes with most great nation-states, which--feeling guilty about their savage pasts--eventually civilize themselves out of business and wind up invaded and ultimately dominated by the lean, hungry up-and-coming who are not made of sugar candy." -June 23rd 2005