Verbatim

'It was never about the money. We just wanted water.' RICHARD KENNEDY JR., of Zanesville, Ohio, after a jury ruled that city officials denied a mostly black neighborhood access to public water for nearly 50 years; the case's 67 plaintiffs were awarded a total of $11 million

'You really are an enigma to me.' JOE BIDEN, Delaware Senator, to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, in reference to Mukasey's tendency to dance around questions

'They did come home together, just not the way we wanted.' JIM WAREING, director of New England Caring for Our Military, after the bodies of two U.S. soldiers--Army Sergeant Alex Jimenez and Private Byron W. Fouty--were discovered in Iraq a year after their abduction by insurgents

'Socialism means social justice and equality, but equality of rights, of opportunities, not of income.' RAUL CASTRO, Cuban President, warning citizens to prepare for a reduction in government subsidies

'If Budweiser is made by a different country, I don't drink Budweiser anymore. I'll go back to Wild Turkey.' JORDAN MOORE, 21-year-old resident of St. Louis, Mo., on the $52 billion sale of iconic American brewery Anheuser-Busch to InBev NV of Belgium. Wild Turkey is owned by French company Pernod Ricard SA

'If it isn't fire or flood, it's the mud.' CHRISTINA LILLENTHAL, California's interagency fire spokeswoman, on the violent thunderstorms that have triggered mud slides in the disaster-ravaged state

'Nerves don't play a part in this.' CRYSTLE STEWART, Miss USA, in an interview before she tripped and fell during the Miss Universe 2008 contest

Back & Forth

Ironic or Idiotic?

From politicians and journalists to cartoonists and comedians, the July 21 cover of the New Yorker, which depicts Barack Obama and his wife as fist-bumping, flag-burning terrorists in the Oval Office, set off a flurry of heated reactions the day it hit newsstands

JULY 13

'Most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive.'

Bill Burton, Obama spokesman, blasting the magazine's "satirical lampoon"

JULY 13

'We completely agree with the Obama campaign.'

Tucker Bounds, McCain spokesman

JULY 13

'In a way, this is Colbert in print.'

David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, likening the cover to comedian Stephen Colbert's mocking portrayal of a right-wing newscaster

JULY 13

'It's a completely valid satirical point to make--and it's perfectly valid for Obama not to like it.'

Stephen Colbert, comedian

JULY 13

'That's the problem with satire. A lot of people won't get the joke. Or won't want to.'

Andrew Malcolm, of the Los Angeles Times, saying the cover lacked context or a caption

JULY 13

'It's a recruitment poster for the right wing.'

Jack Tapper, of ABC News, on how the cover could be misused by Obama's opponents

JULY 13

'Will the two candidates ban sarcasm if they win?'

Ted Rall, president-elect of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, mocking the outcry

For daily sound bites, visit time.com/quotes

Sources: Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch; C-SPAN; AP (2); Wall Street Journal; AP (2)