Lowry, RPT email, Bolaños, Anderson, Strayhorn, Perry, and Jillson

Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, quoted in The New York Times on the finger pointing underway among conservatives: "It is pre-criminations. If a party looks like it is going to take a real pounding, this sort of debate is healthy. What is unusual is that it is happening beforehand."

From a Get Out the Vote email from the Republican Party of Texas: "Only 14 days until we decide the direction of our country. We will either protect America's tradition of faith, family and freedom, or we will embrace the liberal left-wing agenda to take God out of our communities, get control of our families, and make government rule our lives."

Congressional candidate Rick Bolaños of El Paso, quoted in the San Antonio Express-News as he withdrew from the CD-23 race: "Let's be realistic. You can't win a campaign on passion. You have to have money."

Journalist Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail), quoted in Reason: "Political sentiment in this country is more diverse than just two poles; a two-party system is a reductionist simplification of the diversity of views actually out there. There are probably as many views as there are people, on some level. And it suggests that in a marketplace of opinion where there are ways to have political actions that don't involve conforming to the two-party system, you would see more diversity and more variety in both politicians and policies."

Gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a Republican running as an independent, in The Dallas Morning News: "I've got a lot of support with Republican women. A lot of them are openly supporting me. Those that aren't openly supporting me have been threatened and intimidated."

Gov. Rick Perry, quoted in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Our budget surplus is going to be so friggin' big. So why not lower the [business] tax rate down to three-fourths of a cent, or a half-cent? ... I'm all for that."

Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, talking about the minimum wage in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Does our political culture allow even a Democrat to argue that Texas employees are underpaid? It almost sounds pink."

Radnofsky, Perry, Dewhurst, Perry, Bush, and Gau

Democratic Senate candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky, in The Dallas Morning News: "This year is not the lost cause that people think it is. It seems to me there is a perfect storm of circumstances out there. I belong here, and we can win."

Gov. Rick Perry, quoted in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the prospect of winning with well under half the vote: I'm not running for most popular. I'm running to lead this state. There is a great difference between trying to be popular and trying to lead."

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in The Dallas Morning News: "I know that a lot of people, many of them friends, consider me a front-runner for governor in 2010, assuming Gov. Perry doesn't run again. I'm flattered, but right now I have to concentrate on winning re-election."

Griffin Perry, 23-year-old son of the governor and an aide in his campaign, on the Governor's Mansion, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "If you were a small child living in that house, outside of the possibility you could break stuff, it would be great. It's probably the best hide-and-seek house I've ever been in."

President George W. Bush, asked on CNBC if he uses Google: "One of the things I’ve used on the Google is to pull up maps. It's very interesting to see that. I forgot the name of the program, but you get the satellite and you can — like, I kind of like to look at the ranch on Google, remind me of where I want to be sometimes."

Debbie Gau, an Iowa bartender, quoted in the Washington Post: "I just think politics is crooked. The rich pay to get what they want from the people in office. . . It's like the Mafia, with laws. They get to run what they want, when they want. They don't mean nothing that they say."