I've been saying for the last nine years, our power comes as much from - our respect in the world comes as much from the exercise of our power as it does from the power of our principles.

I always wonder when it was that I was embraced.

Guess what, the cheerleaders in college are the best athletes in college. You think, I'm joking, they're almost all gymnasts, the stuff they do on hard wood, it blows my mind.

A lot of people criticized me for speaking out, not long ago, about gay marriage. I could not remain silent any longer. It's the civil rights of our day. It's the issue of our day.

But all our differences hardly measure up to the values we all hold in common.

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.

A lucky person gets up in the morning, puts both feet on the floor, knows what they're about to do and thinks it still matters.