Associated Press
ěWeíre going to see if weíve got some straight shooters in Congress. Weíre going to see if congressional Republicans will put country before party.î
ó President Barack Obama
Using a boisterous Labor Day rally to put congressional Republicans on the spot, challenging them to place the countryís interests above all else and vote to create jobs and put the economy back on a path toward growth.

ěI donít think Iíve ever seen an administration who has gone further afield from the Constitution … than the Obama administration, not just with regulation, but with energy policy, with financial regulatory policy and, with the worst example, Obamacare.î
ó Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
Outlining conservativesí broad indictment of Obamaís tenure at a tea party-backed forum in South Carolina on Labor Day.

ěI wasnít going to evacuate, but then the smoke got blacker and blacker and it was like: ëOK, time to go.í î
ó Gina Thurman
Analyst for the Texas Workforce Commission as a roaring wildfire raced through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Central Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes.

ěUnderlying job growth needs to improve immediately in order to avoid a recession.î
ó HSBC economist Ryan Wang