Verbatim

'If you are fit to fight, you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight.'

MASTER SERGEANT RONALD JENKINS, protesting the fact that he was ordered to go to Iraq even though he has a spinal problem that his doctors say would be exacerbated by heavy Army gear

'So when people tell me a woman can never be President, I say, We'll never know unless we try.'

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON, comparing her presidential campaign with that of John F. Kennedy, the only Catholic to serve as President

'It's true that Barack Obama is on the move. I don't know if it's true President Bush called [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf and said, "Why can't we catch this guy?"'

ROGER AILES, chairman and CEO of Fox, intentionally confusing the Democrat's name with that of Osama bin Laden. The comment prompted Democrats to pull out of a planned presidential debate that would have been co-hosted by the network

'I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views.'

MARINE GENERAL PETER PACE, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after calling homosexuality immoral in a defense of the military's 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy

'Not only would no nation or government accept this ... but it would also consider it as hostile behavior which is the result of cultural and psychological warfare.'

GHOLAMHOSSEIN ELHAM, Iranian government spokesman, about the film 300, which depicts a battle in 480 B.C. when the massive Persian army was held off for three days by a small band of Spartan soldiers

'When I'm looking for something I've dropped on the carpet, I have a bit of a problem.'

ANGELA MERKEL, German Chancellor and chair of a European Union summit that decided to bar 27 E.U. nations from using conventional lightbulbs by 2010; Merkel conceded that energy-saving bulbs still aren't bright enough

'Starbucks must move out of the imperial palace immediately, and it can no longer be allowed to taint China's national culture.'

JIANG HONGBIN, Chinese legislator, renewing calls to close a controversial Starbucks outlet in Beijing's Forbidden City, in a speech during China's National People's Congress

'The moment has come for me to serve you in a different way.'

JACQUES CHIRAC, French President, confirming he would not seek a third term in France's forthcoming elections, ending his 12-year tenure

Sources: Salon; New York Post; Reuters; CNN; ABC News; Reuters; Forbes; BBC