It is not patriotic to decide to destroy a new president who was duly elected by an overwhelming margin. It is un-patriotic to resolve to destroy that presidency.

That's what I like about you, senator, you're kicking it old-school.

The Democrats were in the majority in the U.S. Senate when we voted for the Iraq war and passed the U.S. Patriot Act. It's not enough to be in the majority, you have to stand for something.

It's just really tragic after all the horrors of the last 1,000 years we can't leave behind something as primitive as government-sponsored execution.

The notion of American exceptionalism is effective in part because there is little on the face of it that is offensive.

There is nothing more American than peaceful protest.

Congress has lost its way if we don't hold this President accountable for his actions.

Health care for all Americans is the most pressing domestic issue today. It's far past time for the President and Congress to deliver health care to everyone.

Occupy Wall Street is a real movement.

I'm proud to be a Democrat.

If a trip is worth taking, members of Congress should be prepared to justify paying for it out of their office accounts.

all of us have a place in history. mine is clouds.

But I discovered that people like me -- they do, you know, if you like them -- and then it was all right.

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly despairingly acutely miserable racked with sorrow but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

Failure is nature's plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.

Movies are not novels, and that's why, when filmmakers try to adapt novels, particularly long or complex novels, the result is almost always failure. It can't be done.

I have been to the darkest corners of government, and what they fear is light.

It feels like getting a back massage from the Grim Reaper: one must get comfortable with the most horrifying things in the world.

Human connections are deeply nurtured in the field of shared story.

Yesterday is a cancelled check; Tomorrow is a promissory note; Today is the only cash you have, so spend it wisely.

But sometimes you just have to be your own eyes. You have to see yourself shining and stop waiting for other eyes to see you.