Quotables

"It's not like Paris."

John McCain, commenting on the food in Vietnam to a French reporter three months after his capture. The French National Archives released footage of the hospital bed interview on Oct. 23 (online.worldmag.com/2008/ 10/23/mccain-pow-footage).

"They could have done better; I'm a little disappointed. I hope we're not devolving into the days of a wiki-constitution quite yet."

Kenji Yoshino, professor of constitutional law at New York University, on the Connecticut Supreme Court's citation of wikipedia-an online, user-generated, and user-edited encyclopedia-as a source in its 4-3 decision mandating same-sex marriage.

"I asked a question. When you can't ask a question to your leaders anymore, that gets scary."

Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, on media scrutiny of his personal life after he challenged Barack Obama about his tax plans when Obama campaigned in Wurzelbacher's hometown of Holland, Ohio.

"I think at this point there needs to be a focus on an immediate increase in spending and I think this is a time when deficit fear has to take a second seat. . . . I believe later on there should be tax increases."

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., on Democrats' plans next year.

"People do not put mercury in your car to improve your health."

Karina Moskalenko, a lawyer who has championed some of the Kremlin's strongest critics, after finding a mercury-like substance in her car and falling ill, raising suspicions of politically motivated poisoning.

"If Iran's nuclear project is not stopped by the world, Israel will have to attack."

Israeli Knesset member Isaac Ben-Israel to Jerusalem newspaper Maariv. Ben-Israel is a reserve major general who was involved in planning the strike on the Iraqi reactor in 1981.