Verbatim

'I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country.'

SARAH PALIN, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate, discussing a possible bid for the presidency in 2012

'I wrote down hope and change just in case I forgot.'

ROBERT GIBBS, White House press secretary, mocking Palin for having written notes on her hand for a Feb. 6 speech she delivered at the tea-party convention

'Physicians and society are not ready for "I have brain activation, therefore I am." That would seriously put Descartes before the horse.'

ALLAN ROPPER, a Boston neurologist, warning against equating neural activity with cognition after a study claimed that patients in a vegetative state can signal yes or no via brain imaging

'To me, he's just a fall guy.'

JOE JACKSON, father of the late pop singer Michael Jackson, on the involuntary-manslaughter charge brought against physician Conrad Murray, right, for his role in the entertainer's death. Jackson claims his son was the victim of a wider conspiracy

'People said I should go kill myself.'

PHIL JONES, British scientist at the center of the Climategate scandal, saying he contemplated suicide after the leaked e-mails prompted threats from global-warming skeptics

'I deeply regret the pain that I have caused to my family, the ANC ... and South Africans in general.'

JACOB ZUMA, South African President, apologizing for fathering a child out of wedlock. Zuma has three wives and is engaged to a fourth woman

'We created the packet in 1968. Consumer complaints started around 1969.'

DAVE CIESINSKI, vice president of Heinz Ketchup, which unveiled a redesigned packet that allows users to dunk their French fries

TALKING HEADS

John Avlon

Explaining the origins of the birther movement on the Daily Beast:

"There's an inconvenient truth liberals are going to have to confront: ... the birther conspiracy theory was first concocted by renegade members of the original Obama haters ... a splinter group of hard-core Hillary Clinton supporters who did not want to give up the ghost ... Wing nuts exist in both parties, wherever anger and absolutism drive people to believe that their political opponents are their personal enemies."

--2/8/10

Janet Murguia

The CEO of National Council of La Raza calling for immigration reform on the Huffington Post:

"In nearly 20% of U.S. House districts, Latinos make up more than 25% of the voters ... The hope for immigration reform has been a powerful force behind the Latino vote. Like all Americans voters, Latinos believe it's time for politicians to stop playing politics with a problem we could have solved a long time ago."

--2/8/10

Adam B. Lowther

On the positive side of Iran's nuclear aspirations, in the New York Times: