Verbatim

"As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House." JOHN KERRY, accepting his party's nomination for President at last week's Democratic National Convention

"Take it from me--every vote counts." AL GORE, former Vice President and Democratic nominee for President in 2000, speaking earlier at the convention

"Make sure your vote counts, order your absentee ballot today." REPUBLICAN PARTY FLYER, sent to voters in Florida's Miami-Dade County, where questions have been raised about the reliability of new touch-screen voting machines. Party officials later expressed regret for the message

"I don't need Michael Moore to tell me about Sept. 11." RUDY GIULIANI, former New York City mayor, on the filmmaker's anti-Bush documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11

"I am satisfied that President Arafat is serious this time." AHMED QUREI, Palestinian Prime Minister, withdrawing his resignation, which he had submitted to protest Yasser Arafat's failure to maintain law and order

"They said they cannot stand to see these things and decided to set me free." MUHAMMAD MAMDOUH QUTB, Egyptian diplomat who was kidnapped and subsequently freed by Iraqi insurgents, suggesting that his kidnappers let him go because they felt guilty seeing his worried students (he also teaches in a mosque) on TV

"It is inconceivable how this court can explain its continual pattern of revictimizing this 20-year-old girl." JOHN CLUNE, attorney for Kobe Bryant's accuser in his rape case, whose name was revealed when sealed documents were mistakenly posted on the Internet, in the third such slipup

"They're not White Castle values, but from our point of view, we saw it as authentic with the lengths our customers will go to get our burgers." JAMIE RICHARDSON, director of marketing for White Castle, on whether the raunchy film comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle reflects badly on his restaurant chain

Sources: New York Times; AP (3); New York Times; Financial Times; AP; New York Daily News