Observations: “When Trump stepped into office, the GOP had 1,124 state senators and 3,055 state representatives across the country. Today, the GOP has 1,081 state senators and 2,770 state representatives. When Trump took office, Democrats controlled just 14 state legislative chambers across the country; starting next year, Democrats will control 20 state legislative chambers. That’s not as severe as the Democratic party’s drop-off during the Obama era, but the trend is moving in the same direction.” —Jim Geraghty

Walking a fine line: “I suppose we could call the Trump administration’s idea of deterrence without preemptive intervention as either ‘Live and let live’ — or, more macabrely, ‘Live — and let die.’ Either way, the paradox is to maintain critical deterrence against American enemies to prevent a war, but without Pavlovian interventions, and without being baited into optional military action that is antithetical to the national mood that got Trump elected.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Opportunism: “Of course, it has … come out that — I’ll be darned! — the ‘whistleblower’ has ties to prominent Democratic Trump detractors. So now, the same Democrats who previously saw the man as a potential star witness have decided that his usefulness has run its course. Now that he is a potential liability, it has suddenly become unpatriotic to utter his name.” —Andrew McCarthy

For the record: “[The IG report will be] explosive. For people at the highest levels of the FBI and at the highest levels of the Justice Department, it’s going to be devastating. It’s going to ruin careers.” —former federal prosecutor Joe diGenova

Collusion: “#coup has started. First of many steps. #rebellion. #impeachment will follow ultimately.” —"whistleblower" attorney Mark S. Zaid on Jan. 30, 2017

Lessons from the School of Hard Knocks: “We have to hope that whoever ends up nominated can win the Electoral College.” —Hillary Clinton

Non compos mentis: “We need to win the ticket in the heartland and win those states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan. We can do it. I can do it. … We are going to build a blue wall around those states and make Donald Trump pay for it. That is our plan.” —Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Belly laugh of the week: “News item: China is facing a severe pork shortage. News item: U.S. bacon supply near a 50-year high. Seems like some obvious gains from trade to be had here.” —Steven Hayward

And last… “Billionaires don’t deserve their money. You deserve it even less. The government deserves it least of all.” —Frank J. Fleming