A Confucian or Jewish love of learning would gain minorities far more than any affirmative action laws we might pass.

A nation can't get strong on political pablum.

I feel very strongly that the Democratic Party has, in the past, been the party of the future. I think when you look at Social Security and Medicare, when you look at the civil rights movement, the women's movement, I think the Democratic Party has always been in the forefront of change.

To me, the failure of liberalism - the tradition I come from - was not recognizing there has to be justice across the generations.

We have been maintaining a standard of living by putting things on the debt of the next generation.

I think modern societies have to ask a very basic question: What strategies buy the most health for people? Doctors can do so many marvelous things now. They can keep a corpse alive, almost.

Politics, like theater, is one of those things where you've got to be wise enough to know when to leave.