Quotes of Note

"She's got this great, idyllic vision of me, kind of with a little apron."-- PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, on Laura Bush's plans for him after he leaves the White House

"I thought it was one of the radio stations in South Florida playing an incredible, elaborate, terrific prank on me. They got Fidel Castro to go along. They've gotten Hugo Chavez and others to fall for their tricks. I said, 'Oh, no, I won't be punked. . .' "-- Republican Congresswoman ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, of Miami, on why she hung up on President-elect Barack Obama twice

"This is almost indescribably terrible." -- Economist IAN SHEPERSON, on accelerating job losses in the United States, including 370,000 in November alone

"One of the big points that people don't realize is that when they raise this toll to $7, it will actually be cheaper for a person from the Bronx to drive to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game - in tolls - than it would be for someone from East Boston, 5.8 miles away, to drive to Fenway Park." -- East Boston resident MIKE KELLEHER, who organized a rally this week to protest proposed toll hikes on the Big Dig tunnels

"At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time. I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation."-- House Financial Services Committee Chairman BARNEY FRANK, on President-elect Barack Obama's reluctance to upstage President Bush

"Dear Santa: How are you? How is your wife? Could I have a robo raptor?"-- JAVIER, in a letter to Santa Claus that was processed at a Boston post office

"He said, 'What's under your jacket?' I said, 'My belly.' He waited and gestured with his head like, 'OK, let's see it.' He waited for me to unzip my jacket. I mean, it was so clear that I was pregnant."-- JENNIFER DAVIS, on the state trooper who fined her husband $100 for driving in the breakdown lane to surpass traffic on the way to the hospital as her contractions were three minutes apart

"I went to electric razors so I would not have to look at myself in the morning."-- Former New York governor MARIO CUOMO, on why he won't sit to have his portrait done