Verbatim: Sep. 26, 2005

"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the Federal Government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." GEORGE W. BUSH, for the first time holding himself accountable for the government's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina

"Would you agree that the opposite of being dead is being alive?" TOM COBURN, Oklahoma Senator, during Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' confirmation hearings, trying in vain to pin down the unflappable judge on abortion

"This is more than a photo op, more than business as usual." BILL CLINTON, speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, which brought together 800 A-list politicians and thinkers, many of whom committed--in writing--to do something specific to improve the world. The three-day event, which Clinton promises to hold annually, raised a remarkable $1.2 billion in pledges for aid programs, with more expected in the coming days

"It is a bad idea to have homosexuals in the seminary. It would be a lot like having coed showers at a college." BRIAN SAINT-PAUL, editor of Crisis magazine, a Catholic journal, on word that the Vatican is beginning a survey of U.S. seminaries for "evidence of homosexuality," in an effort to prevent even celibate gays from becoming priests

"It's a gift from the political gods for us." LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina G.O.P. Senator, on a controversial ruling by a federal judge in California that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public school is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion because of the phrase "under God"

"You hit me on one cheek, and I'll try to respond by helping you." HUGO CHAVEZ, Venezuelan President, on his plans to send the U.S. 300,000 barrels of gasoline plus "four or five more" such shipments to help post-Katrina efforts, despite the animosity between the two governments

"It was a great chick magnet." COLIN POWELL, former Secretary of State, referring to the BlackBerry e-mail devices that he said some of his aides appreciated because they could pretend they were getting messages from him

Sources: NPR; Washington Post (2); Boston Globe; CNN; Nightline; Orlando Sentinel