“I don’t intend to lose this election. John McCain doesn’t know what he’s up against. He can talk all he wants about Britney (Spears) and Paris (Hilton), but I don’t have time for that mess.”

– Senator Barack Obama

Venue: Town Hall Meeting in Raleigh NC August 20, 2008

Context / reference source: Fox News

” … But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations … ” — Senator Barak H. Obama

Venue: Fundraiser in San Francisco, Sunday, April 13 2008

Context / reference source: thepage.time.com

” I think the fact that governors are being forced into this position is really unfortunate. They should not be making immigration policy. The federal government should be making immigration policy. And that’s what I’m going to try to do as president again …”

– Senator Hillary Clinton

Venue: CNN Interview November 7, 2007

Reference / Context Source: Politico

“Today’s agreement is a major step forward, but there is still much work left to do,”… “I will continue to fight to ensure that every penny due Louisiana’s recovery is made available, and not trapped behind partisan games or federal bureaucracy.”

– Senator Mary Landrieu

Venue: Press release congratulating her 3 billion dollar earmark added to Defense Appropriation Bill November 6, 2007

Reference / Context Source: Press Release

“REID: As you know, one reason that we have the fires burning in Southern California is global warming. One reason the Colorado basin is going dry is because of global warming …

Q: Senator, on the California fires you said that the reason the fires are burning in California is global warming?

REID: No. Here’s what — I didn’t say the reason the fires were burning in Southern California — that’s part of it. Everybody — I think most everyone recognizes that …”–Senator Harry Reid

Venue: Captol Building press conference October 27, 2007

Reference / Context Source: Lexis-Nexis

“There’s less than one percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than four of five percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you’re dealing with.” … “When you have children coming from dysfunctional homes, when you have children coming from homes where there’s no books, where the mother from the time they’re born doesn’t talk to them — as opposed to the mother in Iowa who’s sitting out there and talks to them, the kid starts out with a 300 word larger vocabulary at age three. Half this education gap exists before the kid steps foot in the classroom.”

– Senator Joe Biden

Venue: Washington Post Interview October 25 2007

Reference / Context Source: Washington Post

“I have a million ideas. The country can’t afford them all.”

– Senator Hillary Clinton

Venue: Boston Globe’s editorial board

Reference / Context Source: The Boston Globe

If one person criticizes [our sheriffs], or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally.”

– Senator Mary Landrieu

Venue: ABC “This Week” broadcast September 4 2005

Reference / Context Source: BusinessWeek

“On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. ….. On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor. If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime–Pol Pot or others–that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.”

– Senator Dick Durbin

Venue: U.S. Senate

Reference / Context Source: Congressional Record

“You bet we might have … ”

– Senator John Kerry. in response to question on if he would have gone to war in Iraq

Venue:  Press confrence in Jefferson City Missouri August 5, 2004

Reference / Context Source: Boston Herald