* “Baghdad is ripe for infiltration for a Tet-like offensive aimed at demoralizing both Iraq and the U.S.”–Charles Krauthammer.
* “We always overestimate military training and force and underestimate what Arabs and Afghans want most: decent and just governance. Without the latter, there is no way to cultivate real citizens with a will to fight–and without will there is no training that matters.”–Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times.
* “A just peace is the only real guarantee for not destroying what we are about to rebuild and reconstruct.”–Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, on his country’s pledge of $1 billion to help rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
* “Europe is struggling. Asia is struggling. Japan is struggling. The United States is the best house on the block at the moment.”–Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments.
* “The view, increasingly prevalent in China, that it will inevitably replace the United States as the world’s leading power is far from assured. Our natural resources, our entrepreneurial culture, and our vast head start in higher education and science are strong factors in our favor. People from all over the world want to live and work in the United States–including wealthy Chinese.”–Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, author of Don’t Wait for the Next War: A Strategy for American Growth and Global Leadership.
* “Fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists.”–British Prime Minister David Cameron’s characterization of the anti-European U.K. Independence Party
* “The export shipment symbolizes a new era in U.S. energy and U.S. energy relations with the rest of the world. … It doesn’t change everything, but it certainly provides a new dimension to U.S. influence in the world.”–Energy historian Daniel Yergin, on the expected sharp rise in American crude exports.
* “Franklin and Theodore couldn’t get out of the Iowa caucuses (today.) Franklin is too infirm. CNN and Fox would be vying for the worst images of him unlocking the braces, the sweat pouring off his brow, the obvious pain and that kind of pity that it would engender would be political poison. And Theodore is just too hot for the new medium of television. There would be 10 ‘Howard Dean’ moments a day.”–Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who produced and directed The Roosevelts.
* “It is the water we drink and the air we breathe, a perception out of all proportion to any objective reality, yet it infiltrates the collective subconscious to such an unholy degree that even black men fear black men.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “A real game changer; a paradigm shifter.”–Dr. Sam Gandy of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, on the re-creation of Alzheimer’s brain cells in a petri dish.
* “The governor could end this today if he wanted to. Don’t put all this on Bondi. It’s time the governor recognizes the (same-sex marriage) message that the U.S. Supreme Court has sent. It’s over. If (Wisconsin Republican Gov.) Scott Walker can make that decision, so can Rick Scott.”–Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
* “Amendment 2 clearly recognizes a role for the Legislature. So if it does pass, the Legislature will be prepared to address, through the standard legislative process, the gaps in the law and to provide guidance to the various state agencies impacted by its passage.”–Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, incoming Florida Senate president.
* “I believe in the embargo and here’s why: The Castro brothers are terrorists.”–Gov. Rick Scott, at the first gubernatorial debate, hosted by Telemundo, in Miramar.
* “I was not personally responsible for the global economic meltdown. You’re not responsible for the national economic recovery.”–Charlie Crist to Rick Scott in the Telemundo debate.
* “This could help drive Democrats to the polls.”–Sean Foreman, Barry University political science professor, on the possible impact of Charlie Crist pushing for the acceptance of Medicaid expansion.
* “It doesn’t do him (Rick Scott) any good to support Medicaid expansion as a campaign issue. His party is against it. The Legislature refused to move it last year.”–Sean Foreman.
* “Apathy is our biggest opponent.”–Micki Castor, head of the Hillsborough County chapter of the League of Women Voters, during a USF voter-registration event.
* “There are a lot of wealthy people in this country who just sit on their money, and I have never understood that.”–Les Muma, who, along with his wife Pam, are donating $25 million to USF’s college of business.
* “For so long, we have not emphasized walking and biking. It’s just a matter of filling in all the blank spaces, and the Selmon Greenway is one of those.”–Tampa City Council member Lisa Montelione, who chairs the livable roadways committee of the MPO, on the 1.7-mile Selmon Greenway trail that is expected to open in March.
* “This whole area is changing, and we are the cornerstone.”–Thom Stork, president and CEO of The Florida Aquarium.
* “They’re not just here for business, but they are part of the community. … It’s helping to put us on the map. It’s a piece of our story. —Melanie Morrison, executive director of the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce, on the opening of the 1 million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in Ruskin.
* “Rail systems work, and they generate significant economic development.”–Former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard.
* “I don’t think it’s high enough on the radar screen.”–St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse, on the issue of rising sea levels and the downtown waterfront.
* “He is every bit as good of a person and human being as he is a player.”–Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik on Steven Stamkos.