* “It could rob us of the diplomatic high ground we worked so hard to reach.”–Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in warning Congress against new sanctions targeting Iran.
* “What the law will do, five centuries later, is make amends for a terrible historic mistake, one of the worst that Spaniards ever made.”–Spanish Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, on Spain’s plans to offer citizenship to descendents of Sephardic Jews forced to flee in 1492.
* “We love Americans, although we don’t always say so. And you love the French, but you are sometimes too shy to say so.”–French President Francois Hollande in his state dinner toast at the White House.
* “It’s not an exaggeration to say that the entire way of life here is at risk.”–Secretary of State John Kerry in Indonesia urging climate change action.
* “When a senator says it’s bad to smoke pot, and young people ask him whether he’s ever done it, and he says he won’t answer the question because it might set a bad example, he’s already setting a bad example. He’s teaching them that politicians are cagey and self-serving.”–William Saletan, Slate.
* “(Philip Seymour Hoffman) did not die from an overdose of heroin–he died from heroin. We should stop implying that if he had just taken the proper amount, everything would have been fine.”–Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.
* “Day trading is the biggest sucker game in the world.”–Jim Cramer, stock-picker host of CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
* “People often find it difficult to identify people of different races, whether it’s whites identifying blacks, blacks identifying whites or what have you. Indeed, it happens enough that psychology has a name for it: other race effect. … A bigot is no more likely than anyone else to misidentify people of other races.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “Through it all, I’ve never stopped chasing the next one (defining moment). I want to finally stop the chase and take in the world.”–Derek Jeter, in announcing that he will retire after the 2014 season.
* “Congress created the problem and Congress must fix it. But the fix cannot occur overnight.”–U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, on the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act.
* “I want more. I want it faster.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on his vision for downtown Tampa.
* “The West Coast has been a hole in our route map, and now we’ve closed that. For us to attract the kind of high-tech companies we want to attract, we have to be competitive. We have to have the air service to bring them here.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano, in announcing daily, non-stop service to Seattle via Alaska Airlines beginning in June.
* “We expect to have a presence in India well after the event.”–Visit Tampa Bay CEO Santiago Corrada, on the impact of April’s Tampa-hosted Bollywood Oscars.
* “Most urban areas clustered around water use their water to move people.”–Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ed Turanchik, who represents HMS Ferries Inc.
* I have no plans to retire.”–MaryEllen Elia, 65, Hillsborough County Schools superintendent.
* “In a special election, I’d be much more suspect of polling… .”–Darryl Paulson, retired USF political scientist, on the Congressional District 13, Alex Sink-David Jolly race.
* “I don’t want to let this thing sit out there and fester much longer. That’s not a good idea. We’re at a point where I’m ready to look at getting together with the Rays and talking about where we go from here.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
* “Confidence is part of the sport, but being cocky isn’t.”–Brandon High School wrestling coach Russ Cozart.
* “…It’s not just hyperbole. It’s not just talk. It’s not just rhetoric. It’s not any of that stuff. It’s believable. And if you believe it, you can do it. If you don’t believe it, you can never do it.”–Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, on the Rays’ prospects for reaching the World Series this season.