* “Let us not lose perspective. (Today’s challenges are) in no way comparable to those faced by our founding fathers.”–Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.
* “They have taken one of the most productive trade relationships in the world and amazingly have turned it into a problem.”–Michael Camunez, president of ManattJones Global Strategies and former assistant secretary of commerce in the Obama administration, on the Mexican-American impact of NAFTA uncertainty under President Trump.
* “I’m a very instinctual person, but my instinct turns out to be right.”–President Donald Trump.
* “Most politicians recoil from controversy. Trump seems to be convinced that controversy serves to amplify his message. The burden of added scrutiny is outweighed, in this Trumpian calculus, by the benefit of extra attention for whatever message he is peddling.”–Ruth Marcus, Washington Post.
* “Donald Trump attracts some of the shadiest, darkest, weirdest people around him.”–Republican strategist Ana Navarro.
* “It’s sometimes said that politicians campaign in poetry and govern in prose. Trump campaigns in braggadocio and governs in bombast.”–Nicholas Kristof, New York Times.
* “(Trump’s) a distraction–in and of himself.”–Jeb Bush.
* “There is no plan B. There’s Plan A and Plan A. We’re going to get this done.”–Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, on the proposed re-write of the nation’s health care system.
* “We’re going to be living with ‘Obamacare’ for the foreseeable future.”–House Speaker Paul Ryan.
* “So much about political power is about perception. And if the perception is that you can’t get your first big initiative done, then that hurts the perceptions down the road about your ability to get other big things done.”–Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala.
* “So much for the art of the deal.”–Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
* “Convenient how Trump flips from an all-powerful master negotiator to well-intentioned simpleton duped by Snidely Ryan at the drop of a hat.”–Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro.
* “We all learned a lot; we learned a lot about loyalty.”–Donald Trump.
* “It collapsed under its own weight and the unmasking of the huge tax breaks to wealthy special interests while raising costs for everyday Americans and weakening Medicare and Medicaid health services.”–Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.
* “I’ve been saying for years that the best thing is to let ‘Obamacare’ explode and then go make a deal with the Democrats. And they will come to us. We won’t have to come to them.”–Donald Trump.
* “We were a 10-year opposition party. Being against things was easy to do.”–Paul Ryan.
* “Do I regret not being president? Yes.”–Joe Biden.
* “The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) serves Congress; the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) serves the president. Given the constitutional separation of executive and legislative powers, both offices are needed.”–Alice Rivlin, founding director of the CBO and former director of the White House OMB in the Clinton Administration.
* “There is arguably nothing more important for the government to do now than pursue competitive markets in sustainable energy.”–Alan Green, Stetson University economics department chairman.
* “It’s a great day for American jobs and a historic moment for North America and energy independence.”–Donald Trump, in granting the permit for the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline.
* “(Constitutional) ‘originalists’ must honor not just the original understanding of words ratified in 1787-88, but also the letter and spirit of language added by later generations of amenders.”–Akhil Reed Amar, Yale law professor and author of “The Constitution Today: Timeless lessons for the Issues of Our Era.”
* “My personal views … I leave those at home.”–Judge Neil Gorsuch.
* “I don’t feel like a winner right now, if that’s what you’re getting at.”–Rachel Maddow, when asked about enjoying a record number of MSNBC viewers as a result of the election of Donald Trump.
* “We have no (transit) vision. In Tampa Bay, we haven’t built that foundation yet. The first step really is merging the MPOs (Metropolitan Planning Organizations). We need to get our house in order.”–Florida Senate Appropriations Chairman Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg.
* “We will never be able to make the progress we want until we take a regional (transit) approach.”–Florida state representative Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, a former board member of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority.
* “He’s going to be hard to beat if he really gets into that race.”–Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s assessment of John Morgan’s chances if he runs for governor in 2018.
* “In Florida, economic development and tourism get respect, but education does not.”–Ruth Eckerd Hall President and CEO Zev Buffman.
* “The number of passengers. The operating costs covered by fares. Just the overall use of the (Cross-Bay) ferry has exceeded our expectations. … March, from what we can tell, is going to be our strongest month.”–St. Petersburg city development administrator Alan DeLisle.
* “I would not have made the deal allowing (the Rays) to look around the region if I didn’t have complete confidence in St. Petersburg and the opportunity that the Trop site presents them.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
* “The distressed segment of the market is down to a very, very low percentage of the market, and what that means is that the market is healthy. Right now, it’s probably the healthiest market we’ve had in the last 10 years.”–Charles Richardson, senior regional vice president of Coldwell Banker, on soaring Tampa Bay home prices.
* “I think West Tampa is a hidden secret among young people as a place to live.”–Jeanette LaRussa Fenton, economic development consultant for the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
* “The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce is ready for the (TBX) conversation and looks forward to working with the communities and FDOT. Together we can find the answer.”–Mike Griffin, chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.