* “Call it the Gaddafi Rule: Give it up and go, or one day find death by ‘Libyan Crossfire.'”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.
* “Some worry that America spends too much time hoping that Iran will become more reasonable when, in reality, it’s trying to get nuclear weapons so it can become less reasonable.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.
* “Barring an unprecedented suspension of the laws of American politics, Mitt Romney has this thing wrapped up. … The press needs the illusion of a hard-fought campaign to keep its audience from straying.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.
* “A primal scream of democracy.”–Al Gore’s characterization of Occupy Wall Street.
* “Rather than merely oppose the flat tax, sensible people should push for a truly progressive tax–starting with a top rate of 70 percent on that portion of anyone’s income exceeding $5 million, from whatever source.”–Robert Reich, former secretary of labor during the Clinton Administration.
* “He’s got a lot of Reagan qualities. He’s a straight talker and he wants to be bold for the future.”–Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker on the allure of GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain.
* “Arts can be an economic draw in our communities. We intend to promote the variety of ways arts and culture can create jobs, stimulate the economy and contribute to Florida’s tourism.”–Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning.
* “The same Tallahassee Republicans berating Washington for Florida’s battered finances would do well to examine their own record. If government has been the problem, they have no one to blame but themselves.”–State Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, the leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
* “I have never before seen a politician be such a consensus candidate for VP so early in the game.”–University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato in referring to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
* “Rickpublicans (.com).”–Newly launched Florida Democratic Party fund-raising website.
* “It’s worth exploring options for the governance structure of this site so that we can be nimble and agile and closedeals and make the most of this facility.”–Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in raising the possibility of creating an authority separate from NASA to operate the Kennedy Space Center
* “Universities represent the future, and students will want to hear how anyone who wants to be president can shape the years to come.”–USF President Judy
Genshaft on the GOP debate that will air Jan. 23 from USF on NBC.
* “It is uniquely positioned to be an iconic structure if you do it right, so I am pulling out all the stops to get this thing done.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on plans to seek proposals from developers on ways to renovate and reuse Tampa’s historic federal courthouse.