California is our biggest economy. California is our biggest agricultural producer. So what happens here matters to every working American.

We should foster a culture in which people's private religious beliefs, including atheists and agnostics, are respected.

That may prevent us from getting a deal done, It is there to be had. Whether ultimately Iran can seize that opportunity - we will have to wait and see, but it is not for lack of trying on our part.

I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.

You look at something like health care, the Affordable Care Act. And for all the controversy, we now have 20 million people who have health insurance who didn't have it. It's actually proven to be more effective, cheaper than even advocates like me expected.

You know, sometimes I'll go to an 8th-grade graduation and there's all that pomp and circumstance and gowns and flowers. And I think to myself, it's just 8th grade ... An 8th-grade education doesn't cut it today. Let's give them a handshake and tell them to get their butts back in the library!

I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount.