* “I would have said four years ago that the al-Qaida movement was emerging as a bigger problem, especially with the emergence of affiliates in places like Yemen and with the spike in homegrown attacks. But I would say today that al-Qaidaism is on the decline.”–Phil Mudd, senior counterterrorism official at the CIA and FBI during the Bush and Obama administrations.
* “In Tampa, the Republican argument against the president’s re-election was pretty simple: We left him a total mess. He hasn’t cleaned it up fast enough. So fire him and put us back in.”–Former President Bill Clinton.
* “They vet most of the people, but I told them, ‘You can’t do that with me, because I don’t know what I’m going to say.'”–Clint Eastwood.
* “In the end, the American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay.”–Julian Castro, the Democratic mayor of San Antonio.
* “The secretary of ‘splainin’ stuff.”–President Barack Obama’s post-convention reference to a would-be cabinet position for Bill Clinton.
* “In Romney’s world, the cars get the elevators; the workers get the shaft.”–Jennifer Granholm, former Democratic governor of Michigan.
* “If you examine the numbers, they suggest that most Americans aren’t better off than they were four years ago–but aren’t much worse off either. The big difference may be their state of mind.”–Robert Samuelson, Washington Post.
* “‘Weaponized Keynesianism’: the claim that government spending can’t create jobs unless the money goes to defense contractors, in which case it’s the lifeblood of the economy.”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.
* “The fact is our destinies are shaped by social forces much more than the current GOP is willing to admit.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “The party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan doesn’t seem like a party anymore, but a cult.”–Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald.
* “It is harder to turn out a vote against someone than a vote for someone.”–Roger Simon, Politico.
* “This is totally unnecessary, this is avoidable, and our kids do not deserve this.”–Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the Chicago teacher strike.
* “I’m one of those believers who says, ‘If you want to join our church, you’re always welcome in our congregation.’ But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to make you my preacher.”–Florida Democratic chairman Rod Smith on speculation that former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist may make a gubernatorial run as a Democrat in 2014.
* “All big cities have adequate mass transit. It’s the one deficiency that we have. It shows up when we have big events, and it shows up in our daily lives. If we had it for the convention, my guess is, light rail would have connected major activity centers together. People would have used it.”–Former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.
* “We now have eight years to look at changing our budget without having to change our service.”–David Mechanik, president of the Tampa Streetcar board, on the financial outlook for the streetcar system.
* “If the city plans on keeping these cameras, I think they can be better utilized in other areas with a higher concentration of crime.”–City Councilman Frank Reddick on what to do with the surveillance cameras that were used to monitor GOP Convention crowds.
* “The city of Tampa hardly uses this port at all. The region uses this port.”–Richard Wainio, recently resigned director of the Port of Tampa.
“Any time the world hears the word ‘Tampa,’ that just reinforces in their mind that there are other places in Florida besides Miami and Orlando.”–Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.