“A governor can be a very good friend to people. A governor can be a formidable force.”

I was elected to come to an incredibly dysfunctional capital and make the government work better, and that’s what I’m doing.

Politicians are good listeners. Because if they’re not, they aren’t politicians for very long.

I haven’t lost my head yet.

I am fiscally prudent and socially progressive. I believe in protecting a woman’s right to choose. I believe in marriage equality.

I don’t think anyone would argue with the notion that there have been serious abuses on Wall Street.

People are rightfully upset about Wall Street abuses and excess.

I know how bad Albany is. I know it better than most. I understand why people are angry. I’m angry. The question is going to be, how do you change Albany, what is the plan for change, and then how do you actually get it done?

If I’m breathing in 2016, I’ll be happy.

I believe we need to attract a new generation of the best and brightest to public service and I believe that government can be a source of inspiration, not degradation.

The essential job of government is to facilitate, not frustrate, job development.

I’ve worked on the urban agenda all my life. All. My. Life.

There is energy and power in a crisis.

If there’s a silver bullet in the battle to recapture Albany, it is the re-engagement of our citizens. This capital has become a physical metaphor for the isolation and alienation of our people.

People go into politics because they want the affirmation, and they want the applause.

Fight as hard as you can, and then understand there’s going to have to be some amount of reasonable compromise.

I believe public education is the new civil rights battle and I support charter schools.

Forced idleness evolves into beauty.

What use are the best of arguments when they can be destroyed by force?

Franco will bring the army from Castille. The ambassador will complain, causing a schism. Rivera’s men will be part of the force. The great man will be denied entry to the gulf.

Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards.

Liberty, not communism, is the most contagious force in the world.

In the city that the wolf enters, enemies will be close by. An alien force will sack a great country. Allies will cross the mountains and the borders.

Crisis is the path to happiness. Decay and disintegration do not spell doom, but ascent and beginning. The powerful forces of a new creation operate in the hush beyond the noise of the day.

Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.