In hindsight, when you look at this and the coverage that it's received and the false impression that is left with some, we probably should have briefed members of Congress about it sooner.

I think when a group like this makes some of these assertions, it diminishes the effectiveness of that organization.

When they do return to the talks we want North Korea to be prepared to talk in a substantive and serious way about how to move forward on the proposal we have on the table. That's where our focus is.

It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produced a false impression.

When you ride hard on a mountain bike, sometimes you fall, otherwise you're not riding hard. At the end of a good hour ride, the pavement was slick and the bike came out from underneath me, just like that person on the Tour de France the other day.

[At the same briefing Thursday at which McClellan challenged Roberts, he lit into Hearst columnist Helen Thomas when she asked about Iraq. After Thomas, who has repeatedly criticized Bush over the war, disputed McClellan's answer by saying that] Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, ... I'm sure you're opposed to the broader war on terrorism.