Baron, Dewhurst, Perry, Fischer, Krusee, Hutchison, and Shepro

Dallas lawyer Fred Baron, asked by The New York Times about whether he lent money to either the woman who had an affair with John Edwards or the former Edwards employee said to have fathered her child: "I have a brief recollection of giving someone some cash. My assumption is I loaned some small amount of money to the both of them."

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, asked about his personal wealth by the Associated Press: "We're not going there. Do I look stupid today? In Texas, we have a long tradition of not talking about the number of cattle you own or your net worth."

Gov. Rick Perry, telling reporters he's not opposed to teachers and staffers carrying guns at schools: "I'm pretty much a fan that if you've been trained and you are registered, then you should be able to carry a weapon. Matter of fact, there's a lot of instances that would have saved a lot of lives."

Texas Ethics Commissioner Ross Fischer, quoted in the Austin American-Statesman on a proposal to require politicians to pay campaign finance fines with personal funds instead of campaign funds: "If you are paying a fine with someone else's money, there is no personal accountability."

Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, talking to Utah lawmakers and quoted by KCPW-FM: "Guess how many roads pay for themselves in taxes? Zero. Not a one. Most of them are less than 50 percent. Imagine if you're a grocery store owner, and you decide, I'm gonna sell sirloin at a buck a pound, and I'm gonna sell milk at a dime a gallon. That's basically what's happening with transportation. We're letting people use our roads for three cents a mile, when it costs us 20 to 30 cents a mile."

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's latest answer on whether she'll run for governor in 2010, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "I'm not undecided at all. But I really don't think this is the time to be telling of it. This is not the time to be building a political organization. But it is my hope to come home. It's just I don't know what's going to happen in the next two years."

Carl Shepro of the University of Alaska, quoted in the Los Angeles Times about scandals there involving U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and U.S. Rep. Don Young: "People are — I don't know if 'disgusted' is the right word, but — with the appearance that you can do these things and think you're going to get away with it. And the other thing is: It seems like they've all sold out for very little money — and that's kind of embarrassing."