What middle-income Americans want most of all is a job. We need a generous safety net for the most vulnerable in our society, but for most people the biggest social accomplishment that we can help them achieve is a good-paying job.

I am who I am. In politics when you treat people well and they know you're honest, straight and sincere, I think it's an advantage. Just because somebody comes from a hard-boiled political culture doesn't make him a good U.S. senator.

I was the chief sponsor of the Business Employment Incentive Program bill, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs here in New Jersey.

To work hard. To open new doors for our kids, for our grandkids. To renew our spirit. That's what America is about.

I led a comfortable life, went to good schools and was privileged in many ways, but my father worked hard. We never considered ourselves rich.

One of the first bills I helped passed was the Shore Protection Fund, which provides a stable source of funding for shore protection, something very important for Monmouth County and the entire Jersey Shore.

My opponent Senator Menendez and his colleagues are pursuing what I consider a Jon Corzine economic policy. Higher taxes, more spending, more debt.