* “So they go in strange paradox, deciding only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent.”–Winston Churchhill in 1936, another time when Britain was wavering about its future.
* “The European Union is our national scapegoat.”–British Tory M.P. Sam Gyimah, giving context to Brexit.
* “The Iran nuclear deal was laboriously negotiated with full international support for the sanctions that were then leveraging Iran, but now it is the United States, not Iran, that is isolated. … The Administration’s insistence on ostracizing Iran has yielded diplomatic initiative in the Middle East to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who more wisely deals with friends and foes alike.”–Paul Pillar, senior fellow at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University and former national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia.
* “We still have a window of American pre-eminence before us, in which we can help shape international order to safeguard our interests and values, before others shape it for us. What that requires is the revival of American diplomacy as our primary tool for navigating a more crowded, complicated and competitive world.”–William J. Burns, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former deputy secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to Russia.
* “The dirty secret of European welfare states is that they tend to be business friendly.”–Roger Cohen, New York Times.
* “The Woodstock of the Republican Party.”–Comedian Bill Maher’s characterization of CPAC.
* “Probably the best way to get the truth would be to put the president under oath.”–House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
* “It takes two to bamboozle: the illusionist and the enraptured.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.
* “I mean, I am always prepared to walk. I’m never afraid to walk from a deal. And I would do that with China, too, if it didn’t work out.”–Donald Trump.
* “It’s undeniable that (Republicans’) fire-and-brimstone debt rhetoric was nothing but a pose, an attempt to weaponize the deficit as a way to block and undermine President Barack Obama’s agenda. The moment they had a chance, the very politicians who grandstanded about the need for fiscal responsibility rammed through a huge tax cut for corporations and the wealthy–a tax cut that is the main reason for the exploding budget deficit.”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.
* “The U.S. labor market is still in good shape. Slower job growth was expected after huge average gains of better than 250,000 over the preceding four months. Job growth should bounce back in March and through the rest of the year.”–Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial, after data showed that the country created 20,000 new jobs in February. More than 300,000 had been added in January.
* “I think he’d have a big advantage because of his name recognition and because of the imprimatur of the Obama vice presidency.”–The Rev. Al Sharpton, in assessing the possible presidential candidacy of Joe Biden.
* “I do not favor giving up liberty for a false sense of security.”–Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a libertarian and a physician, on his rejection of mandatory vaccinations.
* “If Ron DeSantis really cared about expanding access to affordable health care, he would back Medicaid expansion.”–Florida Democratic Party chair Terrie Rizzo.
* “Know the process, know the players, understand what motivates the various actors and develop a strategy to advance your objective or defeat ill-conceived proposals.”–Former State legislator Paula Dockery’s advice to newly elected officials on how to be effective.
* “There is really no established science on most things, you’ll find.”–Florida state Sen. Dennis Baxley, who is pressing for legislation that would allow schools to teach alternatives to certain scientific theories.
* “We take security very seriously. Unfortunately, in 2019, all our devices and accounts are susceptible to being compromised.”–Ashley Bauman, spokeswoman for Mayor Bob Buckhorn, in acknowledging that someone had taken over the mayor’s Twitter account and posted a number of vile tweets.
* “She is prepared to be our mayor. She has trained for this moment.”–Bob Buckhorn, in endorsing Jane Castor for Tampa mayor.
* “We’ve got a couple more years of state money, we’ve brought down costs and we’re seeing ridership increase. Let’s keep doing this until we’re in a position, big picture, where we can (start) up service with multiple boats.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on the Cross-Bay Ferry, which has a 40 percent increase in ridership half way through its six-month season.