* “The attacks cannot stop the process of transition from taking place and cannot affect it, but rather will embolden our people’s determination in taking the responsibility for their country’s own affairs.”–Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on recent insurgent attacks on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul.
* “Moral failing.”–Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s characterization of his sexual encounter with a New York hotel maid.
* “The nation cannot continue to sustain the spending programs and policies of the past with the tax revenues it has been accustomed to paying. Citizens will either have to pay more for their government, accept less in government services and benefits, or both.”–Douglas Elmendorf, head of the Congressional Budget Office, to members of Congress’ bipartisan deficit-cutting supercommittee.
* “If the GOP thinks it can just obstruct Obama and hope that the economy tanks–so Republicans will benefit in the 2012 election–it will be a mistake for the country and the party. I believe most Americans want a Grand Bargain both in substance and style. … We underestimate how much the toxic political rancor in Washington today casts a pall over the whole economy…”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.
* “If we’re lucky, this next election will be a debate about how to remix the chemistry of American governance.”–Joe Klein, Time magazine.
*“The reawakened Republicans are no longer the loyal opposition. They’re revolutionary Bolsheviks who want to eat Obama alive.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.
* “Having an interest in national government that’s mainly limited to disliking it might work fine if you’re the governor of a state that has always regarded itself as ‘low-tax, low-service’ anyway. It’s a little more problematic if you’re the guy in charge of keeping the dollar stable, the food supply safe and the national defense ready.”–Gail Collins, New York Times, on presidential contender Rick Perry, governor of Texas.
* “I don’t think you can be a national politician without having qualities of the entertainer about you because you’re not going to connect with the public. Their palates have gotten jaded.”–Joe McGinniss, author of The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin.
* “Dick Cheney was grilled by the women of The View. So apparently he’s willing to undergo torture himself to prove a point.”–Jay Leno, The Tonight Show host.
* “It was about health. It was about saving lives. I’m a Republican, but I’m not stupid.”–Former state representative Ed Homan, an orthopedic surgeon,
commenting on backing the vaccination of young girls against a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer.
* “This economy cannot come back based on home construction. It’s got to include manufacturing.”–Dick Peck, chairman of the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
* “They tell me it will be better for economic development, but I said show me how, show me the study. I cannot think of a good reason to lose USF’s footprint in Polk County.”–David Touchton, CPA and member of the Central Florida Development Council.
* “If Tampa makes a miracle comeback and takes the wild card from us, I will be devastated. I definitely wouldn’t want to lose to those guys and watch them get into the playoffs while we go home. That would just be devastating to me.”–Carl Crawford, Boston Red Sox outfielder and former long-time member of the
Tampa Bay Rays.