Going into politics is something people have asked me about forever.

One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer.

I have come to believe, more strongly than ever, that after people die they really do live on through those who love them.

People don't always realize that my parents shared a sense of intellectual curiosity and a love of reading and of history.

Sharing the holiday with other people, and feeling that you're giving of yourself, gets you past all the commercialism.

The happiest years of my mother's life were spent in Washington, D.C. It was where she met my father, where John was born and where I spent my earliest years.

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president - not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.