I have always abhorred the word racism. I never use it.

Last week in the Homeland Security Committee, Republicans were against port security; and today, one week after Democrats unveiled our Real Security Agenda, they're for it

Environmental protection doesn't happen in a vacuum. You can't separate the impact on the environment from the impact on our families and communities.

We have a moral responsibility to protect the earth and ensure that our children and grandchildren have a healthy and sustainable environment in which to live.

Environmental policy must strike a balance between the earth's best interests and our citizen's pressing needs

The bottom line is that five million low-income Americans working full time for minimum wage, deserve a raise.

I'm heartened by the growing awareness of global warming among important communities and organizations in our nation.

Education is the great equalizer, and shouldn't be limited to the wealthiest few.

Democrats believe we must have comprehensive health care reform that includes giving the federal government authority to negotiate lower prices with drug companies.

An ability to compromise is important. That means stepping back and getting the ego out of the way in order to accomplish what you want to get done.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. I lost three times before I got elected. There's no limit. Stay in pursuit of your dreams.

Good writing is remembering detail. Most people want to forget. Don't forget things that were painful or embarrassing or silly. Turn them into a story that tells the truth.

Patience was part of his nature, and he accepted his lot as a short-lived mammal, scurrying in and out amid the roots of the giants.

The character of good men and women encourage others to want to be better people.

When you say a friend has a sense of humor do you mean that he makes you laugh, or that he can make you laugh?

I do think that a general liberal arts education is very important, particularly in an uncertain changing world.

The butterflies I get are not if somebody boos me in the crowd, or somebody talks trash about me during the week, or somebody on ESPN rips me. It's the pressure that I'm putting on myself.

One path is greed, the second is curiosity. With one, the journey is to a reward; with the other, the journey is the reward.

What I write could only be called poetry because there is no other category to put it.

I was always told that if people don't want a picture with you, or they don't want an autograph from you, that doesn't mean you're not doing anything good.

The only good thing about going to the fights is you can go into the green room and you can see some of your old friends that you haven't seen in a long time.