As they see it.

• Position: Political leaders

"God gave me a nice mole where I needed it."--Abraham Lincoln impersonator Lon Pressnall, in the Chicago Tribune, at the dedication of a new museum honoring the former state legislator and U.S. president.

"The learning curve is steep, and the empowerment of the lobbying corps and the staff is now no longer just a threat. We've seen it happen."--Florida Senate President Tom Lee, in the St. Petersburg Times, on a ballot measure state voters will consider next year to extend legislative term limits from eight to 12 years.

"The 12th grade is the biggest wasteland in America."--Charles Reed, chancellor of the California State University System, in USA Today, in reaction to proposals to overhaul the senior year of high school.

"It's a bombed-out mouth. You look inside, and all you see are stubs and spaces."--In the Associated Press, Dr. Norman Grantham, a North Carolina dentist who treats prison inmates, on "meth mouth," a condition found among methamphetamine addicts that is costing the state to exceed its $6.5 million annual dental budget.

"We don't want our work force to get any older, but we can't stop them." --Mary Ettinger, former president of a Michigan union that represents about 18,000 state workers, in the Capital News...