“Could you say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I’d appreciate it”

If you dared to put your opinion into a factual piece, your editors said, “You can’t do this. Write an op-ed.”

President Bush in his inaugural address talked about bringing freedom to countries that don’t have it. He didn’t specify how.

When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, ‘Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?’ They want that.

We have the greatest hospitals, doctors, and medical technology in the world – we need to make them accessible to every American.

Medical professionals, not insurance company bureaucrats, should be making health care decisions.

So when you go up against the Far Right you go up against the big financial special interests like the Halliburtons of the world, the big oil companies, the big energy companies who work so hard to rip us off.

Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that we can help bring democracy to every corner of the world.

Some people play golf. Some are artists, Some jog. I like to write.

When service members are discharged, we should express our gratitude for their profound personal sacrifice, not hand them a bill for their hospital food.

The press is critical at this time, and if you look at history, this is so critical.

I think being prepared for anything is the way to go.

I’ve always thought the most patriotic thing you could do in a democracy is to speak the truth as you see it. And that’s what we’re supposed to be about in America. Freedom of speech.

We have to treasure our country, our freedom, the progress we’ve made, and if we see any of that threatened, we have to respond.

The American people need to know the truth. The American people need to see the truth. In a democracy, letting the people know the truth is the essence of what it means to be free.

The Violence Against Women Act protects the lives of tens of thousands of domestic violence victims. But the U.S. must also support gender equality around the world, and that means acknowledging that some nations we consider to be our friends are no friends to women.

We are all different. Yet we are all God’s children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause of freedom, justice, fairness, and equality. That is what unites us.