I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress.

What is required from members of Congress and the public alike is a new spirit of devotion to the national welfare beyond party or self-interest.

If I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months.

Baseball may be our national pastime, but the age-old tradition of taking a swing at Congress is a sport with even deeper historical roots in the American experience. Since the founding of our country, citizens from Ben Franklin to David Letterman have made fun of their elected officials.

Of course, the genesis of a good portion of the gridlock in Congress does not reside in Congress itself. Ultimate reform will require each of us, as voters and Americans, to take a long look in the mirror, because in many ways, our representatives in Washington reflect the people who have sent them there.

We must do all we can to help improve the deplorable human rights situation of the North Korean people.

If one of my boys was asking me if they should go into politics, I'd say there's only one reason to go into public life and that's to help people.