Strickland, Richards, Edwards, Hutchison, Mattos, and Goodman

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, riffing on Texas Democrat Jim Hightower's line from the 1988 national convention: "You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple. Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base, and then he stole second."

Cecile Richards, daughter of the late Ann Richards, at the Democratic National Convention: "After eight years of George Bush, you might be surprised that a Texan is president of Planned Parenthood. After all, there aren't many people eager to see the words 'Texan' and 'president' in the same sentence ever again."

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, joking with the Houston Chronicle that Barack Obama might name him head of the CIA for keeping his silence during the vice presidential vetting: "In a town of leaks, I could keep a secret for 2-1/2 months."

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, asked on MSNBC (before the choice was known) whether she ducked consideration as a potential veep because she wants to run for governor of Texas: "Everybody knows that is where my heart is."

Former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, famous for his rough-and-tumble campaigns, telling the Fort Worth Star-Telegram what the national Democrats should be doing to the GOP ticket: "I'd never advocate using untruths or distortions, but we ought to be going at them blow-for-blow right here on this floor, and real soon."

John Goodman, from the National Center for Policy Analysis, quoted in The Dallas Morning News on Census reports showing Texas leads the nation in uninsured citizens: "So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime. The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American — even illegal aliens — as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care. So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."