THIS WEEK THEY SAID

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organiser", except that you have actual responsibilities. - Sarah Palin, Republican vice-presidential candidate, seeks to cast doubt on Barack Obama's experience .

Life happens . - Steve Schmidt , spokesman for John McCain, as it is emerges Sarah Palin's 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. Palin opposes non-abstinence sex education in schools.

I want to give a shout-out to all my Saudi Arabian brothers and sisters. If you could all please send me some oil for my jet, I would truly appreciate it . - Rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs in a YouTube video.

Is there an opportunity to give them three to six months of benefit? Foreign workers in Ireland could be given a lump sum payment of up to six months' worth of unemployment benefit if they agree to return home . - Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar.

What do I care if Bush is visiting? I'm still trying to get my house back together from Katrina .- New Orleans resident Flora Raymond on George W Bush's visit to the hurricane-wracked city .

I could still snort you under the table . - Elton John to singer Lily Allen after she joked about his age.

The president, Mikheil Saakashvili, doesn't exist for us. He is a political corpse. - Russian president Dmitri Medvedev says he will not enter talks with the Georgian leader.

It highlights the urgency of bringing in the Civil Partnership Bill . - Kieran Rose, chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, amid reports Iarnród Éireann has instructed staff to prevent partners of gay people making use of free-travel passes.

Russians need our energy markets and we need Russian energy. It's as simple as that. - Alexander Stubb, Finland's foreign minister, explains why the EU is not imposing sanctions on Russia over the Georgian conflict.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times