Quotables

"No tax hikes on anybody. Period."

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell on attempts by Democrats to allow tax cuts to expire for high-income Americans but not for other Americans.

"Anything less than execution is too kind a penalty."

Former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, arguing that the person who leaked diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks is guilty of treason.

"Horses don't have good lawyers."

White House aide John O. Brennan, responding to Saudi King Abdullah's proposal that Guantanamo Bay prisoners get tracking chips, just like horses and falcons.

"My town was almost burned out. I thought it was an earthquake."

Noh Myung-San of Yeonpyeong, South Korea, after North Korea's Nov. 23 attack on the island.

"When I hear Shakespeare, I feel like this big door is opening, and something terrible and wonderful is about to happen."

Iraqi student Khende Asaad at auditions for an upcoming production of Macbeth at the American University of Iraq. Located in Sulaymaniyah, the school opened in 2006 with an American-style liberal arts program taught in English.

"Well, don't worry about it. You should see what we say about you."

Unnamed foreign minister to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a round of calls she made to world leaders ahead of a Nov. 29 release of a quarter-million classified State Department documents by website Wikileaks.