PERSPECTIVES
 

 
open quoteI don't let people buy my lunch or buy my dinner. Wherever I am, I pay my bills.close quote

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, testifying in court against allegations that he failed to properly disclose more than $250,000 in home renovations and gifts from a contractor

 
 
open quoteThey have failed not only the people of Iceland; they have failed people in Britain.close quote

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, demanding that the Icelandic government return billions of dollars that his country's local governments and citizens had deposited in Iceland's failed banks

 
 
open quoteI am skeptical of any agreement that would subject U.S. servicemen and -women to the jurisdiction of Iraqi courts in the middle of a chaotic war.close quote

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Carl Levin, reacting to a draft deal proposed by Iraqi officials that could lead to total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011

 
 
open quoteI screwed up. What can I say?close quote

Sen. John McCain, apologizing to David Letterman for canceling his planned Sept. 24 appearance so he could go to Washington to help with the financial crisis, then appearing instead on the "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric"

 
 
open quoteAt first, I was nervous … Then I was like, 'Whatever'.close quote

Bristol Palin's fiancé and expectant father Levi Johnston, on his decision to attend the Republican National Convention— a matter he says the McCain campaign, which was "pretty chill" about his talking to the press, did not insist upon

 
 
open quoteFor those of you who are feeling giddy or cocky or think this is all set, I have two words for you: New Hampshire.close quote

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, speaking to about 4,000 supporters at a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Oct. 16, when he held a healthy lead in most polls

 
 
open quoteUsually they're like, 'Oh, my gosh, don't watch. You're going to, you know, you're going to get depressed'.close quote

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, at a fundraiser in North Carolina, on how her campaign staffers try to discourage her from watching TV news coverage of the campaign

 
 
open quoteLord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their god is bigger than you if [Obama wins].close quote

The Rev. Arnold Conrad, at an Iowa rally for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, warning that "billions" of people are praying "to their god" for McCain to lose

 
 

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