■ In CNN/USA Today poll, President Bush earns 58 percent approval rating-—lowest since September 11 attacks. . . . Kellyanne Conway of the Polling Company, on National Review Online: “At 58 percent, Mr. Bush’s approval rating is identical to that of President Reagan on the eve of his landslide reelection in 1984.” . . . Bush: “Is Saddam Hussein disarming? He’s been given eleven years to disarm. And so the world came together and we have given him one last chance to disarm. So far, I haven’t seen any evidence that he is disarming. Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I’m sick and tired of games and deception.” . . . Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld: “The choice between war and peace will not be made in Washington or, indeed, in New York—it will be made in Baghdad.” . . . Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) on chemical warheads found by U.N. inspectors: “Iraq’s determination to threaten the world with weapons of mass destruction appears once again to have been aptly demonstrated. The most surprising thing about this discovery is that anyone is surprised by it at all. It adds yet another deception to Iraq’s mountain of lies.” . . . Bush on medical liability: “You can pretty well blackmail a doctor into settlement if you continue to throw lawsuit after lawsuit, and the system looks like a giant lottery.” . . . Former Treasury secretary Paul O’Neill says he wouldn’t have supported current Bush tax-relief plan.
■ Sen. Joe Biden (D., Del.), to Gannett News Service: “If John Kerry—probably the most qualified of the declared candidates, in my view—is out there presenting the message that I would, I wouldn’t feel the need to run.” . . . South Carolina Democratic chairman Dick Harpootlian, in Time: “I’ve noticed that Joe Lieberman has been using the term ‘y’all’ lately when he calls me.” . . . On day he announces for president, Lieberman offers qualified support for school choice. . . . Al Sharpton, on whether white voters will forgive his racebaiting and other controversial activities, on NBC: “I think you got white candidates with worse backgrounds. . . . I’m not getting into name-calling, but we’ve had candidates that have had personal indiscretion.” . . . More Sharpton, in American Prospect: “I laugh when people mention to me stuff like [Tawana] Brawley.” . . . Former senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D., Ill.) says she may run for president.
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