Self esteem comes from achievements. Not from lax standards and false praise.

It is high time that the international community tell Saddam Hussein and his regime that this is not an issue of negotiation with the U.N. about obligations that they undertook in 1991.

Fortunately, I started very young, so I read music very well. And my favorite composers to play are Brahms and Mozart.

I'm a strong believer that you have to have an equal opportunity to fail and to try things that are hard. I always tell my students, "Don't just take things that are easy for you. If you're really good at math, don't take just math. Take classes that make you write. If you're a really great writer, but bad at math, take math and make yourself work your way through it."

It's so much a part of me that it's almost hard to describe myself in the absence of [faith].

I'm a great believer in the fact that as you get to know someone, it matters not what religious background they have, or what their nationality is, or where they came from. And I think that's how Americans really do relate to each other on a personal level.

Differences can be strength rather than a handicap.