Upright: “We cannot have four more years of apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends. America needs to be strong for the world to be safe.” —Mike Pence

The bottom line: “What’s the best case for Donald Trump? … The alternative is President Hillary Clinton.” —William McGurn

For the record: “As of the shooting in Baton Rouge [Sunday], 31 officers have been shot to death in 2016. That number is up 72 percent from 18 deaths this time last year, and 2016 is the first time in several years that shooting has been the cause of the majority of police deaths. Normally, that cause is traffic-related. Some additional context: only four Americans have been killed during the operation in Afghanistan this year, only one of whom was killed in hostile conflict. And the Israeli Defense Force … only had six operative deaths caused by violent activity in all of 2015.” —Andrew Badinelli

Braying Jenny: “The deaths of Alton [Sterling] and Philando [Castile] drive home how urgently we need to make reforms to policing and criminal justice, and how we cannot rest until we root out implicit bias and stop the killings of African-Americans.” —Hillary Clinton

It’s about Rule of Law, not the rule of men: “[Gov. John Kasich] could very easily do some kind of executive order [to ban open carry] or something. I don’t care if it’s constitutional or not at this point. They can fight about it after the RNC, or they can lift it after the RNC, but I want him to absolutely outlaw open-carry in Cuyahoga County until this RNC is over.” — Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association president Stephen Loomis

Doesn’t fit the agenda: “I don’t suspect that [lighting the White House blue] is something that we will do. … The president’s strong support for American law enforcement officers is crystal clear.” —Obama spokesman Josh Earnest

Circling the wagons: “I think it was wrong. I don’t care what that woman up there [Patricia Smith, mother of Benghazi victim Sean Smith] has felt. Her emotions are her own, but for the country in choosing a leader it’s wrong to have someone get up there and tell a lie about Hillary Clinton.” —MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (Hillary is the one who’s lying.)

And last… “RNC showcases families of those lost to Fast & Furious and Benghazi. DNC has the mom of a convenience store robber who tried to kill a cop.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor