“I think I’m one of five people in the Senate who’s never been a politician before. And now that I am a politician, what I find weird about it is that I respect myself less.”

The vast majority of that is health entitlements – Medicare, Obamacare, Medicaid. There’s also Social Security, interest on the debt. But fundamentally, health entitlements are the thing that will bankrupt our kids. We need to fix that for the long-term.

[Vladimir] Putin is an enemy of political dissent. The U.S. celebrates political dissent and the right for people to argue free from violence about places where our ideas are in conflict.

What happens in Senate fight club stays in Senate fight club.

What’s more constructive for our kids is to go on a case-by-case basis, evaluating particular policies.

[Vladimir] Putin is an enemy of the free press. The U.S. celebrates free press.

So [Vladimir] Putin is a mess. He’s committed all sort of murderous thuggery, and I am opposed to the way Putin conducts himself in world affairs, and I hope that the president also wants to show moral leadership about this issue.

There is no equivalency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom loving nation in the history of the world, and the murderous thugs that are in [Vladimir] Putin’s defense of his cronyism. There’s no moral equivalency there.

I didn’t go to Harvard because I thought they had good academics. I went because they had crappy enough sports so they’d let me play.

People think if they voted for somebody, they should reflexively defend everything they do or say. And if you voted against somebody, you should just as reflexively oppose everything they do or say. It’s not very helpful.

Putin has as one of his core objectives fracturing NATO, which is one of the greatest military alliances in the history of the world.

he U.S. celebrates political dissent and the right for people to argue free from violence about places or ideas that are in conflict.

In the American constitutional system of three different branches, conflict – and I mean that peaceful, vigorous debate – it’s a feature of our system, not a bug. We need less all-or – winner-take-all politics.

I don’t understand what the president’s [Donald Trump] position is on Russia. But I can tell you what my position is on Russia: Russia is a great danger to a lot of its neighbors, and [Vladimir]

The real number of the US’ obligations, unfunded obligations that we’re passing on to our future generates is more like $70 trillion to $75 trillion.

We obviously have to honor the commitments that have been made to the people who are already retired or near the retirement age. But we need to tell the truth about the fact that when we set the retirement age at age 65 in America, life expectancy was only 62.

Let’s be clear: Has the U.S. ever made any mistakes? Of course.Is the U.S. at all like [Vladimir] Putin’s regime? Not at all.

I’m just saying that we need to find a better way to manifest the broader society’s aspirations, politically.

To ask a politician to lead us is to ask the tail of a dog to lead the dog.

There are honest journalists like there are honest politicians – they stay bought.

That’s what I’m about — getting engaged. Too many people don’t wade in the mud with the politicians.

What passes for real debate in Washington often seems more like an echo chamber, with politicians talking at politicians.

The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever being one.

I don’t want to associate myself with any specific group of politicians.

Barack Obama isn’t the first politician to break a promise, torture the truth or outright lie to the American people. But, he certainly is among the most accomplished at it.