I can imagine no more important contribution to our country's future than a long-term commitment to improving urban K-12 public schools.

How absurd that our students tuck their cell phones, BlackBerrys, iPads, and iPods into their backpacks when they enter a classroom and pull out a tattered textbook.

Art evokes emotion. It doesn't have to be a thing of beauty.

If someone can't give me a good reason why you can't do something, I find a way to do it.

One, Andrew Carnegie said, ‘He who dies with wealth dies in shame.’ And someone once said, ‘He who gives while he lives also knows where it goes.’

Most museums - with all their burdens to pay for exhibitions, administration, and security - really don't have any money really to acquire art, with few exceptions.

If people want to criticize me because it sells papers, that's fine. I just don't like it when it's inaccurate.