HOWARD DEAN
Most belated concession speech: "[S]ure, I would have liked to have been a little bit -- done a little better. But I congratulate John Kerry and John Edwards on great campaigns. I think they ran a great campaign."

JOE LIEBERMAN
Come to think of it, shouldn't you be challenging him in the primary? "President Bush said to someone that the Democrat he thought would give him the toughest fight for reelection was Joe Lieberman. ... And I think the reason is that the Republicans can't run their normal playbook on me that they try to run on Democratic candidates. They can't say I flip-flop because I don't. They can't say I'm weak on defense because I'm not. They can't say I'm weak on values because I'm not. They can't say I'm a big taxer and a big spender."

And you thought gasohol pandering in Iowa was bad... DISTASO: "I would like to follow up by asking Senator Lieberman ... to pledge now to use your power as president, as the nominee or as senator, to actively oppose any efforts in the future ... to boot New Hampshire out of its first-in-the-nation place."

LIEBERMAN: "I will pledge to the death to protect ... the New Hampshire primary, so help me God."

JENNINGS: "Let it never be said that any of you pander."

AL SHARPTON
Quick, call the Superfriends! "As I've traveled all over the world, from the Caribbean to Africa to Europe to the Middle East, people need our trade and aid. They know we're a superpower. The question is: Can we be a super-help in the time of need?"

One economic board's as good as another, right? PETER JENNINGS: "[If] you have the opportunity to nominate someone to be chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, what kind of person would you consider for the job?"

SHARPTON: "[W]e must have a person at the [International] Monetary Fund that is concerned about growth of all...."

(Bonus factoid: The Managing Director of the IMF is chosen by the Executive Board, consisting of eight permanent national seats, plus sixteen other directors elected by multinational constituency groups.)

Except for that pesky Second Amendment, right? "[L]et me say something about the Defense of Marriage Act. I am unilaterally opposed to any civil or human right being left to states' rights. That is a dangerous precedent."

WESLEY CLARK
Second most disturbing sign of disengagement: JENNINGS: "The other day you had a rally here ... [and Michael] Moore said, in front of you, that President Bush ... [is] a "deserter." ... Do you still feel comfortable with the fact that someone should be standing up in your presence and calling the president of the United States a deserter?"

CLARK: "I don't know whether this is supported by the facts or not. I've never looked at it. I've seen this charge bandied about a lot. ... To be honest with you, I did not look at the facts, Peter. You know, that's Michael Moore's opinion. He's entitled to say that. I've seen -- he's not the only person who's said that. I've not followed up on those facts. And frankly, it's not relevant to me and why I'm in this campaign."

Most disturbing sign of disengagement: GRIFFITH: "[A]s a lobbyist for Acxiom Corp, you helped secure a federal contract for the system known as CAPPS II, a passenger- screening program which has been criticized by the ACLU for violating people's rights to privacy."

CLARK: "Well, I don't know about CAPPS II because I have not seen the program, and I don't think many of the people who are worried about it have. ... And when I was consulting with Acxiom -- and I was on the board of the company, and I did take them around and introduce them to various members of the United States government, the Defense Department and so forth, because their technology will improve our security."

DENNIS KUCINICH
And gumdrop tree and chocolate lakes and fluffy marshmallow clouds, too! "[W]hat I would replace [No Child Left Behind] with is a new educational structure where the focus would be on helping to bring forth the creativity of our children, in stressing arts and language, music; to invite the participation of educational philosophers and psychologists and administrators and teachers and parents and children."

Most honest answer of the night: GRIFFITH: "Why did you cut a deal to send voters to the Edwards camp if you didn't meet the 15 percent threshold in Iowa?"

KUCINICH: "John Edwards and I are friends. And one thing we agreed on in Iowa is that we both wanted more delegates. That's what we agreed on."

He's counting on those extraterrestrial delegates at the convention: "I intend to have a very infinitely interesting journey to planet Earth."

JOHN EDWARDS
Most obvious name-dropping award: "For example, President Musharraf said to me when I met with him: They desperately needed a public school system as an alternative to the religious schools, where their kids are taught to hate Americans."

States' rights for me, but not for thee: EDWARDS: "[W]hat happened with the Defense of Marriage Act is it took away the power of states, like Vermont, to be able to do what they chose to do about civil unions, about these kinds of marriage issues."

HUME: " Does not the Defense of Marriage Act specifically say that the court rulings in one state, which might, for example, recognize a gay marriage, may not be imposed on anther state? In other words, doesn't the Defense of Marriage go to the very position which you yourself take?"

EDWARDS: "No, the Defense of Marriage -- first of all, I wasn't in the Congress, I don't claim to be an expert on this. But as I understand the Defense of Marriage Act, it would take away the power of some states to choose whether they would recognize or not recognize gay marriages. That's my understanding of it."

Best out-of-the-park answer: HUME: "I wonder ... if some people don't also look at you and ... wonde[r] if, while you may be very promising and attractive in their ideas, it may be a little early for the White House for you?"

EDWARDS: "Well, actually, Brit, I think 32 percent of Iowans decided it was not too early ... that they wanted me to be their president."

JOHN KERRY
One of these things is not like the other... "I am a veteran. I fought in a war. I've been a prosecutor. I've sent people to jail for the rest of their life. I have, as a lieutenant governor, helped to fight to create a national plan on acid rain to protect our rivers and lakes and streams for the future."

Bravest refusal to pander: GRIFFITH: "What do you propose in the balancing act between the environment and the economy, as it pertains to MTBE?"

KERRY: "It needs to be banned, taken out. And the companies that have put it in need to be held responsible for it."