Verbatim

"The MISSION ACCOMPLISHED sign, of course, was put up by the members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished." PRESIDENT BUSH, on the banner that was used as a backdrop for his appearance aboard an aircraft carrier to declare the end of major combat operations in Iraq in May. His spokesman later clarified: Though the Navy requested the banner, the White House made it

"The clouds are ominous over somebody else's backyard miles away, and an hour later, the flames are right in front of you." JOSEPH EVANS, insurance sales executive whose family had to evacuate their home in Claremont, Calif., as the state's wildfires raced out of control

"The terrorists declared war on America and on the civilized world many years before September 11, 2001." CONDOLEEZZA RICE, National Security Adviser, in a speech, faulting prior administrations for ignoring the mounting terrorist threat

"I knew immediately that I had been shot. I first prayed. I said a prayer that God would not let me die." CAROLINE SEAWELL, a survivor of the Washington-area sniper shootings, in testimony at the trial of suspect John Allen Muhammad

"This is about putting the princess's point of view forward--it is a loving tribute to her memory." PAUL BURRELL, Princess Diana's former butler, on his new tell-all memoir, which Diana's sons say would "mortify" their mother

"The timing is absolutely staggering to me. Obviously, it's very hurtful." NANCY REAGAN, former First Lady, on The Reagans, a controversial cbs mini-series based on the life of her husband, now ailing, and herself

"With my heart in my mouth/Because your love is everything to me/I know you may make me suffer/But I'll never let you go." SILVIO BERLUSCONI, Italian Prime Minister, in a song he wrote for his newly released debut album of love ballads

Sources: Washington Post; USA Today; New York Times; Washington Post; AP; Fox News; AP