You had to be tough to be a female member of Congress.

Tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from Italy has been chosen to run for vice president in the new land my father came to love.

I am the first to admit that were I not a woman, I would not have been the vice-presidential nominee.

You people married to Italian men, you know what it's like.

The promise of our country is that the rules are fair. If you work hard and play by the rules, you can earn your share of America's blessings. Those are the beliefs I learned from my parents.

the Republicans love to say that the Democratic Party is ruled by 'special interests.' But when pressed to name these 'special interests,' the usual reply is women, blacks, teachers, and unions. Those are 'special interests' to be proud of - because together they comprise the majority of Americans. What about the 'special interests' that dominate the Republican Party - the oil companies, the banks, the gun lobby, and the apostles of religious intolerance?

I should have had a circuitous answer; that was a non-answer.