Quotable & notable

"What Bush has succeeded in doing is entangling the next administration in a $1 trillion war."

--The Mercury News of San Jose, Calif., assessing President Bush's last State of the Union address and legacy

"It is all so superficial, so artificial! These are but crumbs for those who love politics."

--Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, the newly elected Jesuit superior general dismissing what he called journalistic "cliches" about supposed struggles between the Jesuits and the pope

"Doubts are the ants in the pants that keep faith moving."

--Boston College philosophy professor Peter Kreeft answering the question: Do you ever look at the world's tragedies and doubt God?

"We're selecting candidates for the most important job in the world via a process that's less rational than the one used to choose Miss Kumquat of Pasco County, Fla."

--Humorist Dave Barry on the U.S. presidential primary system

"Do I [ask], 'Can I see your documents before I give you free spaghetti?" It negates Matthew 25."

--Dave Lewis, a Presbyterian pastor in Shawnee. Okla., about the state's new immigration law, which makes it a felony to knowingly shelter or transport illegal immigrants

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