“You’ve been fighting a war. You shouldn’t have to come back here and fight a system.”

– Congressman Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., speaking to Iraq war veterans as Walter Reed Army Medical Center came under fire for inadequate care of wounded soldiers.

“He strapped us on his back and delivered us.”

– Gonzaga Bulldogs coach Mark Few after point guard Derek Raivio scored 28 points in GU’s conference championship victory over Santa Clara.

“We have never flown fighters this old. If you’re driving a 28-year-old car, you can expect some problems. And 28-year-old cars don’t go flying around at 700 miles per hour and pull nine G’s.”

– Lt. Gen. David D. Deptula, deputy chief of staff for the Air Force, expressing concerns about the nation’s aging military aircraft.

“When you look at spending and concentrate on spending, you get very good at spending.”

– Washington state Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, talking about perennial challenges over funding of basic education.

“How the hell can it be a public swim area when it’s now been declared private property? It’s no different than anywhere else on the lake.”

– Attorney John Magnuson, who represents Coeur d’Alene homeowners, some of whom are applying to the state of Idaho for permission to build docks along popular but controversial Sanders Beach, which the city contends is a swimming area where boats are restricted.

“There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them.”

– Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, during an interview in which he acknowledged that even as he criticized President Clinton’s philandering with Monica Lewinsky, he was having an extramarital affair of his own.

“They know how to put me out, but they don’t know how to help me out.”

– Hurricane Katrina victim Allsee Tobias, who lost his home in the floods that followed the storm and has been living in relief housing that the Federal Emergency Management Administration abruptly closed.

“It was said a number of times. What are we doing with this guy? Where’s Rove, where are these other guys?”

– Juror Denis Collins, explaining after White House aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s conviction that some on the panel wondered if he was a fall guy for higher-ups in the administration.