For a generation and more, the government has sought to meet our needs by multiplying its bureaucracy. Washington has taken too much in taxes from Main Street, and Main Street has received too little in return. It is not necessary to centralize power in order to solve our problems.

I didn't used to care about living a long time. Not that I wasn't enjoying life, but I never sat around asking how I'd get to be 100, you know. But now I want to live long enough to see every school child in the world getting a good, nutritious lunch every day.

Above all, being a Democrat means having compassion for others. ... It means standing up for people who have been kept down.

It's nice not to have to worry about constituents, now, I simply do what I want.

I did frequently refer to my war record in World War II, but not in any flamboyant way.

The truth is that I oppose the Iraq war, just as I opposed the Vietnam War, because these two conflicts have weakened the U.S. and diminished our standing in the world and our national security.

Everyone is exposed to economic risks of some kind.