the economy

"I think a good barometer here ... is go to a kids' soccer game on Saturday and turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, 'How are you feeling about the economy?' And I'll bet you you're going to hear some fear in that parent's voice, fear regarding the few investments that some of us have in the stock market -- did we just take a major hit with those investments?... Two years ago, remember, it was John McCain who pushed so hard with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform measures. He sounded that warning bell. People in the Senate with him and his colleagues didn't want to listen to him and wouldn't go towards that reform that was needed then.

TAXES

"You said paying taxes is patriotic. You're not always the solution, too often you are the problem. Get out of the way and let the private sector and families prosper."

WAR IN IRAQ

"Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq and that is not what our troops need to hear. We cannot afford to lose there, or we will be no better off in the war in Afghanistan either. We have got to win in Iraq."

"I know again that you opposed the move that [Obama] made to try to cut off funding for the troops and I respect you for that. I don't know how you can defend that position ... especially with your son in the National Guard."

[Referring to Obama]: "Anyone I think who can cut off funding for the troops after promising not to -- that's another story."

GLOBAL WARMING, DRILLING

"I'm not one to attribute every activity of man to change in the climate.... There is something to be said ... for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet. ... People are so hungry for those domestic sources of energy to be tapped into. It is safe to drill and we need to do more of that."

"The chant is, 'drill, baby drill.'"

CHANGING WASHINGTON

"We're tired of the old politics as usual. And that's why, with all due respect, I do respect your years in the U.S. Senate, but I think Americans are craving something new and different and that new energy and that new commitment that's going to come with reform."

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