I see tragedy and comedy and pain and irony and all that stuff. But in the end I think life is fascinating, and I think people are more good than bad, and I think that the possibilities of prog­ress are real.

At a certain point you can't help but lose some feel for what's on the ground because you're not on the ground.

Maybe you could be a great writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write that English paper - that English class paper that's assigned to you.

Lobbyist influence comes from access, not money.

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

It is important for us to understand that the way we are perceived in the world is going to make a difference, in terms of our capacity to get cooperation and root out terrorism. And one of the things that I intend to do as president is to restore America's standing in the world.

I do have an obligation to make sure that I am following some of the rules. I can't simply ignore laws that are out there.