* “My dear friends, on behalf of Japan and the Japanese people, I offer with profound respect my eternal condolences to the souls of all American people that were lost during World War II.”–Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in his address to a joint meeting of Congress.
* “Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was telling the truth when he recently said that he has not made up his mind about this (nuclear) deal. He’s having an identity crisis. He wants sanctions relief without integration. After all, if Iran is a normal state, who needs a medieval cleric to be the ‘supreme leader’?”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.
* “Unlike NAFTA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is much more than just a trade deal. It is the foundation for an intelligent reorientation of U.S. foreign policy, one that will help revitalize the entire global economy and reinforce security ties with Asian countries fearful of China’s growing regional dominance.”–Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a political-risk consultancy.
* “When the mayor and the police chief and the President cannot explain to fellow black citizens why Freddie Gray is dead, somebody’s got to be held accountable.”–Tavis Smiley, author and PBS commentator.
* “America needs your passion, your impatience, your participation in the political discourse. And for the sake of preserving freedom, vote. Please vote.”–Mitt Romney, in his Jacksonville University commencement speech.
* “Before the Affordable Care Act went fully into effect, conservatives made a series of dire predictions about what would happen when it did. … In reality, the act has produced a dramatic drop in the number of uninsured adults; premiums have grown much more slowly than in the years before reform; the law’s cost is coming in well below projections; and 2014, the first year of full implementation, also had the best job growth since 1999.”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.
* “People should not underestimate me. I’ve run outside of the two-party system, defeating Democrats and Republicans, taking on big-money candidates and, you know, I think the message that has resonated in Vermont is a message that can resonate all over this country.”–Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in declaring his presidential candidacy.
* “I’ve seen a lot over my decades in politics, and not much alarms me. But I have to be blunt: Money is poisoning our political system.”–Lee Hamilton, who represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.
* “It’s always difficult to get a guilty verdict against a police officer except in the worst and strongest cases. A police officer comes into a courtroom not just presumed to be innocent, but presumed to be the good guy.”–David A. Harris, University of Pittsburgh expert on racial profiling in law enforcement.
* “Judges are not politicians, even when they come to the bench by way of the ballot.”–U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
* “The decision came down to where could I make the biggest difference in serving Florida and improving the lives of the middle class, and the answer was pretty clear–as a senior member on the committee that oversees the tax code, Social Security, Medicare and international trade.”–Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, on why he will not run for Marco Rubio’s Senate seat.
* “The (legislative) culture is toxic right now.”–Florida Senate Appropriation s Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon.
* “The House’s unilateral adjournment clearly violated the Constitution.”–The Florida Supreme Court, in finding that the Florida House violated the state Constitution when it adjourned early.
* “They follow like lemmings, and that doesn’t happen in the Florida Senate.”–Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, commenting on his counterparts in the Florida House.
* “I would rank (Gov. Rick) Scott as the least effective, most incompetent governor in modern Florida history. Scott was largely absent from the legislative session. He does not understand the process and he is not highly respected even by Republicans in the Legislature.”–Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of political science at USF St. Petersburg.
* “The people don’t have a vote in Tallahassee, but they do have a vote in November 2016. Medical marijuana will be back on the ballot, and we will get the law we deserve.”-Attorney John B. Morgan, chairman of the medical marijuana advocacy group, United for Care.
* “The perfect choice. He has the experience, the knowledge, the leadership ability and the temperament for this job.”–Retiring Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor, on the appointment of Assistant Chief Eric Ward as her successor.
* “We don’t profile people. We target criminals.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
* “It puts the party in a bad position, it puts many people in a bad position and it puts many different groups in a bad position.”–Former Mayor Sandy Freedman, on the likely 2016 Democratic primary race for clerk of the circuit court between iconic incumbent Pat Frank and Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.
* “As soon as the State Department authorizes and the country of Cuba authorizes complete open recreational access, we might consider going forward.”–Harvey Ford, commodore of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, on the possibility of resuming the St. Petersburg-Havana Yacht race that ran from 1930 to 1959.
* “Imagine if we shifted our mind-set from managing poverty to eliminating it? … We know that it costs less to create jobs than it does to throw money at managing the symptoms of poverty.”–Darden Rice, St. Petersburg City Council member.
* “If he wasn’t a good guy, we wouldn’t have used the first pick on him.”–Bucs’ General Manager Jason Licht on the drafting of Jameis Winston.
* “Fight of the Century? This wasn’t even the fight of the night in Vegas.”–New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica on the uber-hyped Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout.