* “We had a very specific choice: a deal we largely disagreed with, or a chaotic default.”–What Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told his Parliament before it voted to approve a harsh austerity bill demanded by bailout creditors.
* “In the coming months, we’ll undoubtedly be hearing a lot more about the risks of this (Iran nuclear) deal than about the potential rewards. That’s both human nature and political-season demagoguery. … We have been taking all sorts of bellicose risks since Sept. 11, 2001. Almost all of our military ventures have failed. So many lives have been lost. It’s time, finally, to take a risk for peace.”–Joe Klein, Time magazine, on the Iran nuclear deal.
* “In the end, this should have been a confrontation between a superpower and an illegitimate, third-rate autocracy (Iran). Instead, the Obama/Clinton team settled for trading carrots and sticks and hoping for elusive signs of moderation from cruel theocrats.”–Marco Rubio.
* “The United States needs a foreign policy that puts steel in the face of our enemies.”–Scott Walker.
* “One thing I won’t do is just say as a candidate: ‘I’m just going to tear up the agreement on the first day.’ That sounds great, but maybe you ought to check in with your allies first.”–Jeb Bush.
* “(Benjamin) Netanyahu is failure-proof. In his world, there are only two possibilities–either he is a winner or he is a victim.”–Nahum Barnea, dean of Israeli newspaper columnists.
* “Trickle-down economics has to be one of the worst ideas of the 1980s. It is right up there with New Coke, shoulder pads and big hair. … We are not going back to that.”–Hillary Clinton.
* “You’ll have to ask Hillary Clinton her views on whether we should break up these large financial institutions. I do.”–Bernie Sanders.
* “I will say what I want to say, and maybe that’s why I’m leading in the polls because people are tired of hearing politicians and pollsters telling the politicians exactly what to say.”–Donald Trump.
* “After severing ties with Donald Trump, NBC is reportedly in talks with comedian George Lopez to take over Celebrity Apprentice. So Trump’s greatest nightmare came true. A Hispanic guy took his job.”–Seth Meyers.
* “This is the guy I know. He’s focused on big things, speaking hard truths and damning small politics, and that is why so many of us were attracted to him from the start.”–David Axelrod’s assessment of President Barack Obama.
* “It used to be fine to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower or Mount Everest, but that’s not good enough anymore. Now tourists have to put themselves in the picture. It’s about ‘me,’ not about the place that I visit.”–Jesse Fox, assistant communications professor at Ohio State University.
* “The editor who rejected (Harper) Lee’s first effort had the right idea.”–Louisa Ermelino, Publisher’s Weekly.
* “The (Florida) economy is getting much better, obviously … but it’s still not fully recovered yet. We thought all along this was going to be a very, very lengthy recovery. Like we said early on: This is not your father’s recession; this is your grandfather’s depression.”–Scott Brown, chief economist with Raymond James Financial.
* “Democrats were in complete control of Florida from the 1880s to the 1990s, a period of 110 years. They never once proposed “fair districts.”–Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
* “If the new congressional map includes my home, I intend on running to serve the people again.”–Charlie Crist.
* “We know better than anyone that the monopoly utilities will stop at pretty much nothing to slow or eliminate the growth of distributed energy.”–Mike Antheil, executive director of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association and a member of Floridians for Solar Choice.
* “Whether for economic or quality-of-life reasons, the public recognizes that transportation is our most pressing issue.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
* “This action is being taken to curb potential litigation expenses.”–Tampa City Attorney Julia Mandell, on the rationale behind the panhandling-ban repeal.
* “This flag to me hurts. It’s going to history, it’s going to a place where people can go there and read about all the Confederate flags and what it means to them.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller, on the relocation of the Confederate flag from the County Center to the Tampa Bay History Center.
* “We really think the attendance problem is a result of the fact that we don’t have a good facility and we may not have a good location, let me say it that way, within the market. Absolutely feel the market is viable.”–Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.