I think it's dangerous to be optimistic.

The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible.

It is better to inconsistently save some lives than to consistently save none.

Our national leaders tend to try to protect the national interest as they see it. They may screw up in that, but they at least see that as their role. In contrast, where issues of our national values are involved, which covers pretty much any humanitarian issue, they pretty much drop the ball.

It really is quite remarkable that Darfur has become a household name. I am gratified that's the case.

Every year 3.1 million Indian children die before the age of 5, mostly from diseases of poverty like diarrhea.

If the U.S. wants to help people in tsunami-hit countries like Sri Lanka and Indonesia - not to mention other poor countries in Africa - there's one step that would cost us nothing and would save hundreds of thousands of lives. It would be to allow DDT in malaria-ravaged countries.