Verbatim

By Melissa August, Harriet Barovick, Elizabeth L. Bland, Sean Gregory, Janice Horowitz and Rebecca Winters Sunday, Sept. 08, 2002
    • "For 11 long years, Saddam Hussein has sidestepped, crawfished, wheedled out of any agreement he had made not to harbor, not to develop weapons of mass destruction." GEORGE W. BUSH, after telling congressional leaders he would seek their O.K. before attacking Iraq

    "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." ANDREW CARD, White House chief of staff, on why the Administration waited until after Labor Day to launch its campaign to convince the American public that military action against Iraq is necessary

    "This country can burn. This country can't survive without Bibi." SARA NETANYAHU, wife of Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli Prime Minister, in a taped phone call

    "If I believed the skies were safe, I wouldn't be here supporting this bill." SENATOR BARBARA BOXER, California Democrat, after voting to allow pilots to carry guns in the cockpit

    "I think Congress ought to be here, working. There's not anything I can do by going up there." SENATOR ROBERT BYRD, West Virginia Democrat, explaining why he didn't join his colleagues for a special session in New York City

    Sources: New York Times (2), AP, New York Times, AP