* “May God protect us from the fear of change.”–Pope Francis in Jordan on his three-day visit through the Holy Land.
* “We must study if the current interpretation of the constitution is sufficient in order to protect the people and their peaceful lives. … There is a misunderstanding that Japan will return to a country that wages war, but that will never happen. Japan sticks to its pacifist pledge it has kept since the end of the war.”–Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
* It is an important election because the trend in the counting shows that old ideas about caste, religion and region have not been relevant. … The youth across India have voted for change, and Modi represented that change.”–Indian author and political analyst Dipankar Gupta on the election of Narendra Modi, Hindu nationalist and economic reformer, as India’s next prime minister.
* “Recent events do not inspire much confidence. Instead, future defenses of Obama’s foreign policy may boil down to just six words: ‘At least he didn’t invade Iraq.'”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.
* “There was a time when the U.S. was intervening everywhere, and throughout the world people were reproaching the country. And now the U.S. is not intervening, and people are reproaching them again.”–French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
* “There are two kinds of big companies in the United States: those who’ve been hacked by the Chinese and those who don’t yet know that they’ve been hacked by the Chinese.”–FBI Director James Comey.
* “Democracies tend to have a tough time with long-range planning. Voters tend to want more government services than they are willing to pay for. The system of checks and balances can slide into paralysis, as more interest groups acquire veto power over legislation.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “I get most of my news, probably, driving back and forth to work, on the radio. Talk guys usually.”–Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
* “In a true financial panic, the moral imperative is to ignore moral hazard and first put out the fire. This is counterintuitive. It feels deeply unfair.”–Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
* “What this does is it welcomes technology and innovation to Colorado.”–Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, on legislation to provide state oversight for ride-sharing companies.
* “If Jeb’s name was Brown instead of Bush, I think he would be the (Republican presidential) front-runner today.”–Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
* “Never before has the Hispanic vote played such a pivotal role in electing an American president, and never again will there be a president of the United States voted into office without courting the Hispanic electorate.”–Javier Palomarez, president and chief executive of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
* “We’ve got more than 100,000 bridges that are old enough to qualify for Medicare.”–President Barack Obama.
* “You have to look at the reality. You have to do the math. It’s not only a mathematical issue, but it’s a moral issue.”–Jan Brewer, Republican governor of Arizona, on why she pushed her state to accept Medicaid expansion.
* “It really is just almost awesome in its evilness.”–MIT health economist Jonathan Gruber on states that refuse to accept Medicaid expansion funds.
* “The new heroin population is whiter. It’s not inner city; it’s suburbia.”–James Hall, drug abuse epidemiologist at Nova Southeastern University.
* “I never expected to run for office–but then again, I never expected to do a lot of things in my life. I never expected to meet the president of the United States. I never expected to be a blonde.”–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in her book, A Fighting Chance.
* “In political terms, a deceased ex-husband is better than a living one.”–Amy Chozick, New York Times.
* “In politics, there are three basic categories. There’s campaigning, there’s governing and there’s talking about it. The easiest of the three is talking about it. It also pays the best.”–Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and Republican presidential candidate who hosts a cable show on Fox News and a radio program for Cumulus.
* “In an ideal world, I would not say that John was the best candidate, but in the world we live in I would say he is the best candidate.”–Former Florida State University President Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte in nominating state Sen. John Thrasher for FSU president.
* “It’s a big loss. The city’s going to miss him.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the death of Al Austin.
* “He has given back to this community and to this country every day that I’ve known him.”–Former Mayor Dick Greco on the death of Al Austin.
* “I’ve been waiting for this one. This is good.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, reacting to the announcement that Jeff Vinik and partners had filed a rezoning application with the city to build a proposed 400-room hotel on a parking lot just west of the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
* “Local (non-chain) businesses bring more money into your community.”–Maryann Ferenc, owner of Mise en Place restaurant and co-founder of the Tampa Independent Business Alliance.
* “It’s good for the city; it’s part of my job to be involved in a big event in the city.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman on taking part in the St. Pete Pride festival.