* “In official pronouncements Jan. 1 continues to be spoken of as the birthday of a living creature, when, in fact, it is the anniversary of something that died long ago. The Revolution has been buried by stagnation. The social project lies deep within the earth and the question on everybody’s mind is what date should we carve on its tombstone.”–Award-winning Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez.
* “We’ve become a nation of wusses.”–Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
* “If Republicans overreach in 2011, they will re-elect Barack Obama in 2012.”–“Morning Joe” host–and former Florida Republican congressman–Joe Scarborough.
* “Riding the lamest of ducks, President Obama just won the Triple Crown. He fulfilled (1) his most important economic priority, passage of Stimulus II, aka the tax cut deal; (2) his most important social policy objective, repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”; and (3) his most cherished (achievable) foreign-policy goal, ratification of the New START treaty with Russia.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.
* “We have a billionaire military and a pauper diplomacy. The U.S. military now has more people in its marching bands than the State Department has in its Foreign Service–and that’s preposterous.”–Nicholas Kristof, New York Times.
* “Network news needs to cease and desist from using so many ‘conclusory’ sound bites. … We need some analysis of complex issues.”–Barry W. Lynn, executive director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
* “The American political system, it turns out, was not broken–just poorly used for nearly two years.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.
* “I would not have worked for (Gov.-elect) Scott a single day, even if I had been asked to stay.”–Former Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs Tom Pelham.
* “They seem to have misinterpreted my study.”–The reaction of former Assistant Treasury Secretary Alan Krueger to the way his input on unemployment benefits was presented by Gov. Rick Scott’s economic development advisers.
* “If you are looking for someone to build the Tampa market, and make it more attractive to both domestic and international growth, then Joe is your man.”–John Kirby, AirTran Airways’ senior director of strategic planning and scheduling, in support of TIA’s hiring of Joe Lopano as director.