My mom was a teacher - I have the greatest respect for the profession - we need great teachers - not poor or mediocre ones.

I stick to playing Brahms, but I love listening to Led Zeppelin, and I've also been a big fan of Earth Wind and Fire since the Seventies and of The Gap Band since the Eighties.

And we believe that our policies toward Iraq simply are to protect the region and to protect Iraq's people and neighbors.

I've speculated about what my life might have been like as a musician, but I'm afraid I came to the conclusion that I probably would've either been teaching piano or maybe gotten to play at Nordstrom's department store.

What the United States has done hasn't always been liked or popular. But if you look at some of the most populous places in the world - China, India - the United States is not only respected but, in fact, popular.

I'm not personally fearful, but I look out, and there are a number of things that concern me, and I'm hopeful that we can overcome them.

It's bad policy to speculate on what you'll do if a plan fails when you're trying to make a plan work.