What I like best in Baltimore is the people, the neighborhoods and what goes on in the neighborhoods. Each has its own stories, own diners and own quirks. It's about community. I also like everything Old Bay.

My own father had died of Alzheimer's. George [Mitchell] had been also, I think, deeply moved by a similar tragedy.

Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change.

We don't have a caucus, because we differ on so many views. Some of us are pro-choice, some are not. We'll take the issue of drilling, for example: Lisa Murkowski would want to drill in ANWAR, Maria Cantwell, Barbara Boxer, and most of us would say no, and so we don't. But we get together once a month for dinner, and we have three rules: no memos, no staff, and no leaks; and we get together for friendship. In fact, we're having a dinner tonight. We just have drinks and talk about life and times.

I think, though, with that whole sense of integrity and a lot of things that have been going on, the shared leadership rather than the titular head.

Martha Pope herself is a legend within the institution, and he was enormously supportive. And me and the women candidates.

The family is not only a living arrangement. It has always been a symbol of survival.