We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.

In speaking powerfully and eloquently for mercy and reconciliation to people divided by old hatreds and persecuted by abuse of power, the Holy Father was a beacon of light not just for Catholics, but for all people.

So much of modern politics is focused not on honest differences of policy but on personal attacks.

If you look at what's happened to the stock market, if you look at what's happened to housing values, if you look at what's happened to bank loan portfolios because the value of their other assets that they've already issued loans against were going down, there was a pretty good argument for trying to pass something at about this level of investment with the divisions as they were - unemployment, food stamps, and tax cuts, aid to education and healthcare, and job creation.

Just try to imagine what it would be like to be 300 million years old.

Though I often disagree with Republicans, I never learned to hate them the way the far right that now controls their party seems to hate our president [Barack Obama] and a lot of other Democrats.

Constant conflict is actually often good politics. Because the more you can inflame your supporters the more likely they are to show up at election day. And if they're more inflamed than the other side, even if the other side has more people agreeing with it, you'll win, because your crowd will show up.