Education enables people and societies to be what they can be. It is education that allows us to see that we are in this for the long haul, and it is education that will give us the tools we need to build a better future.

You have a 12-foot fence. You know what'll happen? Thirteen foot ladders.

Raising a family is difficult enough. But it's even more difficult for single parents struggling to make ends meet. They don't need more obstacles. They need more opportunities.

We must never forget that it is the private sector - not government - that is the engine of economic opportunity. Businesses, particularly small businesses, flourish and can provide good jobs when government acts as a productive partner.

Make no mistake, the point of cutting the personal income tax and the capital gains cut is to send an unmistakable message to business leaders.

The last thing we need to do, relating to teachers, is the key to a good education in this country is a strong teacher. I would have a minimum wage for all our teachers, $40,000 per year.

When did "sentimental" become a pejorative barb? I do not at all share the notion that a piece of music, or a poem, or a film that bypasses the brain and aims straight for the heart . . . should automatically be heaped with scorn. I think it is symptomatic of a sad and dangerous impoverishment of spirit.