What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people will give you 20 minutes of rage about how the borders are out of control. But then you start saying, practically, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about the 11 million here? What are we going to do to get some workers we need for the farms? Then people start having a normal conversation.

I do think creating an open free-trade economy but with strong social support is the way to go.

Fundamentalism is still on the march.

Our emotions tell us what to value. They're like a little GPS system: Go that way. Don't go that way.

People used to complain that selling a president was like selling a bar of soap. But when you buy soap, at least you get the soap. In this campaign, you just get two guys telling you they really value cleanliness.

We have rapidly increasing technology, which is making life very good for people who are good at using words, and not so good for people who are not good at using words.

I would like to see an animating passion. Tim Kaine actually had a good line. What animated you before you got into politics? And she actually does have a story there to tell about children. And so drawing that animating passion will do good.