Politiquotes of the Week: Aug. 12

Lawmakers discuss the economy and each other.

Barack Obama - "[It's] not a lack of plans or policies that's the problem here. It's a lack of political will in Washington.  It's the insistence on drawing lines in the sand, a refusal to put what's best for the country ahead of self-interest or party or ideology.  And that’s what we need to change," President Obama said in response to Standard & Poor's downgrade of the nation's credit.

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Barack Obama - "[It's] not a lack of plans or policies that's the problem here. It's a lack of political will in Washington.  It's the insistence on drawing lines in the sand, a refusal to put what's best for the country ahead of self-interest or party or ideology.  And that’s what we need to change," President Obama said in response to Standard & Poor's downgrade of the nation's credit.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann - "I'm Michele Bachman and I'm running for president. I'm working to make President Barack Obama a one-term president with your help," said Rep. Michele Bachmann during an Iowa campaign stop.(Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Herman Cain - “The left has gone so far left that they consider the middle [to be] the right extreme,” said Herman Cain during an interview on the "America's Morning News" radio program.

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Rep. Emanuel Cleaver - "The president has one agenda; we have another agenda altogether," Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver said in an MSNBC interview about the two sides' efforts to address African-American unemployment.

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Newt Gingrich - "This economy is crumbling under a bureaucratic socialism in which Washington dictates every aspect of life. The result is people aren't hiring. Folks are running out of money. I think we are going to see the economy stay in deep trouble unless there's a profound change in direction," said Newt Gingrich in a Fox News interview.

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Tim Pawlenty - Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dissed fellow presidential candidate Michele Bachman on NBC's Meet the Press. "We're looking for someone who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I have done that; she hasn't." Bachmann's response: "People can count on me as a fighter; I am proud of my record of fighting with resolve, and without apology, for our free markets, for sane fiscal policies and in opposition to the advancement of the big government left." (Photo: Brian Snyder/Landov)

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Tim Pawlenty - "The president of the United States addressed the country yesterday afternoon," said Tim Pawlenty during an Iowa campaign stop. "And we saw in his remarks—both in content and tone—that his call to the nation that he used in 2008 of hope and change became hope and blame. And he began to act like a manure spreader in a wind storm, throwing things in every direction without any real focus."(Photo: REUTERS /BRIAN SNYDER /LANDOV)

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U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel - "People don't want to know how we got [in an economic crisis], they want to know how the heck we're going to get out of it. And people in my community, they don't wake up in the morning talking about debt ceiling or what's happening to the stock market. They want to know when can I have hope for my family that I'm going to have a job?" said Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) during an appearance on MSNBC.(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Mitt Romney - "I'm expecting it's going to get real ugly. My guess is you're going to see all kinds of things drudged up, made up and puffed up," said Mitt Romney in a Fox News interview in response to a Politico article that reported the Obama campaign is planning a vicious attack on him.(Photo: AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

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Mitt Romney - "I'm expecting it's going to get real ugly. My guess is you're going to see all kinds of things drudged up, made up and puffed up," said Mitt Romney in a Fox News interview in response to a Politico article that reported the Obama campaign is planning a vicious attack on him.(Photo: AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum, who says he entered the presidential race to stop government-controlled health care, told the Des Moines Register editorial board on Aug. 5 that people who are worried about medical costs should reconsider some of their "creature comforts." Recalling a woman who mentioned her monthly prescription bill, he said, "You're complaining that you're paying $200 a month and it keeps you alive? What's your cable bill? I mean, what's your cell phone bill? Because she had a cell phone. And how can you say that you complain that you have $200 to keep you alive and that's a problem? No, that's a blessing!"(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Rick Santorum - “They want to force their worldview on us and they’re using this idea of 'equality,' which is absurd. This has nothing to do with how two people want to live their lives. It has everything to do with an agenda that is ultimately going to destroy the family, weaken the family and weaken our religious liberties in this country,” former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said about gay marriage.(Photo: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Rick Perry - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been in the GOP presidential race for a mere few days, but he’s off like a shot and suddenly one of the party’s top three contenders. He’s backpedaling on previous positions, such as a 2007 effort to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, the principal cause of cervical cancer.(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Gov. Rick Perry - “I’m kind of getting to the haul-in point and the idea that, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I mean, this is starting to get to that comfort level and I’ve got the calmness in my heart. I think that was a bit of a hurdle initially but I’m very calm in my heart that this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” said Gov. Rick Perry about his potential White House bid.(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)