Verbatim: Jul. 5, 2004

“F___ yourself.” VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY, to Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, on the Senate floor after members gathered for their annual group photograph. Cheney later admitted that he “probably” cursed at the Senator, who has made accusations of cronyism in the granting of contracts to the Vice President’s former company, Halliburton. Cheney added that he “felt better afterwards”

“I was the buffet, and he just couldn’t resist the dessert. That’s not how it was.” MONICA LEWINSKY, former White House intern, on how Bill Clinton portrayed his sexual relationship with her in his just published memoir

“Over 20 years of sentencing reform are all but lost, and tens of thousands of criminal judgments are in jeopardy.” SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR, in a dissent to the court’s 5-4 ruling that judges may not increase a convict’s sentence based on facts not already established by a jury. The ruling casts doubt on the constitutionality of 20-year-old federal sentencing guidelines

“Mr. Nader, you have a right to run, but we have not heard a reason to run.” REPRESENTATIVE ELIJAH CUMMINGS, Democratic chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, during a meeting in which the group asked the third-party candidate to drop out of the presidential race

“We’re not talking about fetuses–human beings–being killed. We’re talking about collections of cells in a Petri dish that are never, ever going to be a human being.” RON REAGAN, reiterating his support and that of his mother Nancy for embryonic stem-cell research

“I miss my old job terribly.” MARTHA STEWART, convicted former CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, who is scheduled to be sentenced this month on charges related to her sale of ImClone stock

“He’d be innocent because the prosecution hasn’t given us any reason to believe otherwise so far.” JUSTIN FALCONER, juror dismissed from the Scott Peterson trial, on whether Peterson is guilty of murdering his wife Laci

Sources: Washington Post; Daily Mail; New York Times; CNN; Larry King Live; AP; New York Post