Verbatim

‘They talk about me like a dog.’

BARACK OBAMA, inveighing against Republicans and other critics during a Milwaukee labor rally

‘When I look at the temple they built, I see a decaying temple, nearly collapsing. It will fall sooner rather than later.’

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, former IAEA chief, calling for a boycott of November’s parliamentary elections in Egypt, saying they will invariably be rigged by the government

‘In many parts of the world, it is regarded as an American imperialist agent … When citizens of those countries themselves are engaged, then hopefully democratic government will respond.’

GEORGE SOROS, billionaire philanthropist, who will donate up to $100 million to New York City–based Human Rights Watch to help transform it into an international organization

‘I’m definitely a good player.’

USAIN BOLT, the 24-year-old record-holding Jamaican sprinter, saying he would like to play soccer professionally once his track-and-field career is over, in about four years

‘I feel happy because I’m unique.’

EDWARD “NIÑO” HERNANDEZ, on being dubbed the world’s shortest man by the Guinness Book of World Records. The 24-year-old Colombian stands at 27 in. (69 cm)

‘The Jews have lived an existence that is much harder than ours. Nothing compares to the Holocaust.’

FIDEL CASTRO, former Cuban leader, criticizing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for anti-Semitic statements

‘I don’t know what I would have done without her in my life … I can’t wait to make her my wife!’

RODNEY KING, who was famously captured on tape being beaten by Los Angeles police in 1991, on his engagement to Cynthia Kelley, one of the jurors who awarded him $3.8 million in his civil suit against the city

TALKING HEADS

John Prendergast

Urging the Obama Administration to take a stand on Sudan, in the Wall Street Journal:

“The most pressing question is how the U.S. and the international community can convince the various parties in Khartoum, the south and Darfur to abandon violence … With Sudan about to split and Darfur volatile, time is running out. The moment has come for President Obama to lay out a clear policy, ending the conflict inside his Administration and potentially preventing a real war in Sudan.”

–9/3/10

Scott Simon

Considering on NPR’s Weekend Edition what it’s like to be jobless:

“Having no job does not mean having no work. Your children must still be fed, bathed and ferried to school … But you have less money for food, gas and the new shoes your children need … You may blame politicians, brokers and bankers, but in the middle of the night you might … wonder what you did, didn’t do or should have done.”

–9/4/10

Yulia Latynina

Writing about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s latest travels, in the Moscow Times:

“The road trip underscores one of Putin’s biggest problems as the national leader–how to spend his time. He certainly doesn’t waste it by worrying about trivial problems such as health care reforms, corruption or modernization … He likes taking a minisubmarine to the floor of Lake Baikal, river rafting in Tuva, tagging Siberian tigers, riding in … fighter jets and flying co-pilot in firefighting aircraft to drop water on the leaping flames. Now that’s exciting!”

–9/8/10

For daily sound bites, visit time.com/quotes

Sources: WhiteHouse.gov BBC; NPR; BBC; AP; TheAtlantic.com RadarOnline.com