"I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions of president of the State Council and commander in chief. I am not saying goodbye to you. I only wish to fight as a soldier of ideas."FIDEL CASTRO, announcing in a letter that he will step down as Cuba's president
"At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust."JOHN McCAIN, on a
"For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country."MICHELLE OBAMA, wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama
"Musharraf is obviously a poison pill. He is fading out."DANIEL MARKEY, a former South Asia specialist at the State Department under President Bush, after Pakistani President Musharraf's party was trounced in elections on Monday
"Houston, I think we've achieved liftoff here."Senator BARACK OBAMA, declaring victory in Wisconsin's primary while addressing supporters in Texas Tuesday night
"If your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words. And, you know, lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in; it's change you can
"I'm going to come here to play the game, finish my year. If they want me to come back, I'll come back."Red Sox slugger MANNY RAMIREZ, saying he wants to stay with the Sox
"Sometimes the North Koreans don't like our words; maybe they'll like our music." Assistant Secretary of State CHRISTOPHER HILL, on the New York Philharmonic's scheduled appearance at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater
"I have not completely lost my mind to the dog world, just my heart."PATTY HEARST, heiress and former hostage of the Symbionese Liberation Army, who showed her French bulldog at the Westminster Kennel Club show
