Reactions to Boeing's win of tanker contract

"We've spent the last year advocating on behalf of Boeing — ensuring our federal and military leaders understood the advantages of an American-made tanker, made by the best manufacturer of airplanes in the world."

— Gov. Chris Gregoire

"The U.S. Department of Defense ... has made an egregious error and America's military men and women are ultimately the biggest losers."

— Mobile (Ala.) Area Chamber of Commerce, as reported by the Mobile Press-Register

"Our team is ready now to apply our 60 years of tanker experience to develop and build an airplane that will serve the nation for decades to come."

— Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman and CEO

"This is certainly a disappointing turn of events, and we look forward to discussing with the Air Force how it arrived at this conclusion. "

— Ralph D. Crosby Jr., EADS North America chairman

"I'm in the middle of a blizzard but it's all blue skies."

— Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. (home to Boeing's Wichita plant)

"I'm disappointed but not surprised... Only Chicago politics could tip the scales in favor of Boeing's inferior plane."

— Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. (home to proposed EADS tanker plant)

"We are overjoyed that the Air Force has chosen the best plane for the mission. This was a win for warfighters and the working men and women of Washington State who build the best product for the best price."

— Washington Rep. Jay Inslee