I don't expect the government to solve my problems, but at least I expect them to understand it.

I get overwhelming support in the African-American community.

Social Security's not the hard one to solve. Medicare, that is the gorilla in the room, and you've got to put all of it on the table.

The point being we used to have a system that wasn't as rigged in how the tax structure functioned. The president [Barack Obama] and I have been trying to get rid of some of these loopholes for some time. Look, we have to change the corporate culture.

The change we need is fixing this broken economy from the bottom up.. not tax breaks for the wealthy and huge corporations that ship U.S. jobs overseas. We need to focus on defeating al Qaeda and the Taliban and restoring America's standing in the world.. not an unending commitment in Iraq.

I'm not big on flak jackets and tie-dyed shirts. You know, that's not me.

It's easy being vice president - you don't have to do anything.