* “‘Picasso used to be a great painter,’ the 20th-century French artist Georges Braque, one of the founders of Cubism, once said. ‘Now he is merely a genius.’ John McCain and Barack Obama are now merely geniuses. The two one-time presidential nominees, once bitter opponents, both confront a political landscape that is as different from the one they navigated in 2008 as a Rembrandt portrait is from one painted by Picasso.”–David M. Shribman, Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
* “So far, history be damned. The contrast between revived profits and stunted job growth is stunning…Companies are doing much better than workers; that defines today’s economy. The most obvious explanation is that the relationship between labor and capital has changed. Capital has gotten stronger; labor has weakened…Lowering the head count is the quickest way to restore profits and, from there, a company’s stock price.”–Robert Samuelson, Washington Post.
* “I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding.”–President Barack Obama on the proposal for an Islamic community center with a mosque two blocks from where 3,000 people died when hijacked airliners slammed into the World Center towers.
* “It is my personal opinion that the wishes of the 9/11 victims’ families and friends must be respected. They are opposed to this project, and I share their view.”–Alex Sink, Florida’s CFO and Democratic candidate for governor.
* “Brass creep.”–Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ term for the U.S. military being top-heavy in generals and admirals.
* “Buried oil will have a much longer-lasting effect because it will not be weathered by the sunlight as easily as the surface oil.”–USF researcher Ping Wang on the unacknowledged oil still buried beneath beaches that have been designated as clean.
* “Beaches all along the Gulf Coast are clean, they are safe, and they are open for business.”–President Barack Obama in Panama City Beach.
*”Probably.”–Gov. Charlie Crist’s answer to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer’s question if he would make a party-specific, caucus commitment should he win the senatorial race. A commitment, that is, beyond caucusing “with the people of Florida.”
* “Experts say Medicare fraud in South Florida costs U.S. taxpayers between $3 billion and $4 billion annually. Part of the problem is that Medicare pays claims first, then asks questions later. That leaves criminals with a time gap that often allows them to bank the money, shut down their storefronts and scurry on before they get caught.”–Carl Hiaasen, The Miami Herald.
* “The health of Florida’s economy is the biggest factor. I’m surprised the governor of a state in economic meltdown held on to above 50 percent for so long.”–Aubrey Jewett, USF political scientist, on the results of a survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research that shows Gov. Charlie Crist with a 44 percent rating of “excellent” or “good.”
* “The election code envisions a democratic system that allows open and contested elections, with limited review from the courts. The voters of Hillsborough County are entitled to decide which candidate for District 5 will best serve them.”–Hillsborough Circuit Judge Herbert Baumann Jr. in ruling that County Commission candidate Linda Saul-Sena should stay on the November ballot.
* “Can you name another city, really, that has this much going on? And we did it during the recession.”–Mayor Pam Iorio in presenting her proposed ($787 million) budget to Tampa City Council.