“Job Killer.” Those are the two words you are most likely to hear uttered by most American CEOs when confronted with proposals to enact family-friendly work policies.

Political success is often dependent on the ability to be heard above the din of controversy and debate and to set a course with one's own compass.

A desire to succeed in politics is propelled by these two seemingly contradictory forces, which frequently change places and sometimes coexist: to save others and to save oneself.

Like art, political action gives shape and expression to the things we fear as well as to those we desire. It is a creative process, drawing on the power to imagine as well as to act.

Money often determines not only who gets elected, but what gets done. Which voices do lawmakers listen to, the banks or home owners, coal companies, or asthma sufferers, the CEOs or the unemployed?

Inaction, contrary to its reputation for being a refuge, is neither safe nor comfortable.

We see the world through the lens of all our experiences; that is a fundamental part of the human condition.