* “Is there really any vital U.S. interest at risk in whether the 40-year-old Assad dictatorship stands or falls?”–Pat Buchanan, Creators Syndicate.
* “In large parts of China, it still looks like the U.S. in the 1950s: most everything is in cash.”–Jeffrey R. Williams, executive director of the Harvard Center Shanghai.
* “Partisanship or even the appearance of partisanship has no place in the I.R.S.”–Steven Miller, recently resigned acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
* “There are two I.R.S. scandals. The other is the I.R.S. allowing big shadowy forces to meddle in elections anonymously through front groups that file false statements with the I.R.S.”–Sen. Shelton Whitehouse, D-R.I.
* “I would not dismiss Benghazi. It’s a very serious issue.”–Bob Woodward, Washington Post.
* “It is well past time for political moderates to speak as forcefully as the snake-oil salesmen who are hijacking our democracy.”–Joe Klein, Time magazine.
* “Cynicism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You have no chance if you assume you have no chance.”–Robert Reich, professor of public policy at the University of California Berkeley and former secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration.
* “Investors deserve to know at long last: Are the companies they trust with their hard-earned cash investing it in research and development (R&D) or wasting it to support the two major political parties (R’s & D’s)?”–Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, assistant professor of law at Stetson University College of Law.
* “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER–you can use caps.”–Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
* “Make no mistake, the Cuban government must improve human rights. But it is clear that the policy of the embargo and isolation over 50 years hasn’t improved the human rights situation.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.
* “International trade and foreign investment combined are responsible for creating more than 1 million Florida jobs, or roughly about one in seven jobs in Florida.”–Gov. Rick Scott.
* “If we don’t win (the governor’s race) in 2014, we can hang it up.”–Tampa Democratic strategist Anna Cruz.
* “The cost of campaigns has done nothing but increase tremendously. It’s $1.5 million a week to be on television.”–Alex Sink, former state finance chief who ran unsuccessfully against Rick Scott in 2010.
* “We are watching the growth of the greatest messenger that American exceptionalism has ever known.”–Tom Lee, state senator and Hillsborough County Republican chairman, in reference to Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
* “I’ve always been up front about the type of leader I wanted to be: an inclusive reformer.”–Speaker of the Florida House Will Weatherford.
* “In Washington, everyone’s taking notice of his strong stand on the Medicaid expansion issue. … He’s building a reputation as a solid conservative who you can rely on.”–American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas referring to Will Weatherford.
* “We offer Lottery as a service to our customers, but we don’t promote it.”–Publix spokesman Brian West.
* “I think it does up our cool factor.”–MidFlorida Credit Union president and CEO Kevin Jones on MidFlorida buying the naming rights for the outdoor concert venue (Amphitheatre) at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
* “I do think there’s a lot of pent-up demand, and the fact that interest rates are low, that has a lot to do with it.”–Jennifer Doerfel, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, on the nearly 50 per cent increase in regional home construction in the first quarter.