Instead of giving in to cynicism and division, let's move forward with the confidence and optimism and unity that define us as a people.

I have been a strong proponent of pay-as-you-go. Every dollar that I've proposed, I've proposed an additional cut so that it matches.

The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person.

Short term, the most important thing is to put people back to work ... If they're working, that means they're paying taxes, that means that they're buying goods and services - and the economy, instead of being on a downward spiral, starts back up on an upward spiral.

The best judge of whether or not a country is going to develop is how it treats its women

If you want to get at African American poverty, the income gap, wealth gap, achievement gap, that the most important thing is to make sure that the society as a whole does right by people who are poor, are working class, are aspiring to a better life for their kids.

I could say, as a member of Congress, we usually get an alert if something is going to happen at the Capitol.