People come into public life for different reasons. None of us are ego-challenged, I think, or we probably wouldn't be doing what we're doing, so if anyone tells you that they don't like the sound of the applause and the ego gratification, I don't think they're being straight with you.

What is required from members of Congress and the public alike is a new spirit of devotion to the national welfare beyond party or self-interest.

If I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months.

Our success as a party will largely be determined by how well we do here in the heartland... The time has come to be secure about our values. The time has come to lead.

We must do all we can to help improve the deplorable human rights situation of the North Korean people.

Mothers - especially single mothers - are heroic in their efforts to raise our nation's children, but men must also take responsibility for their children and recognize the impact they have on their families' well-being.

A few decades ago, the Irish decided they were tired of being always near the bottom of Europe's economic indicators. So they envisioned a better future for their country, and they put their people on the right road to get there.

Any time a president is re-elected, he has a little more political clout to get things done.

Massive debts owed to foreign creditors weaken our global influence and threaten high inflation and steep tax increases for our children and grandchildren.

Families and businesses are tightening their belts to make ends meet - and Washington should too.

Challenges of historic import threaten America's future. Action on the deficit, economy, energy, health care and much more is imperative, yet our legislative institutions fail to act. Congress must be reformed.

We shouldn't have someone working in the Oval Office trying to discredit and smear a private individual who's just speaking their mind about an important issue facing the country. That is not going to move our nation forward.

You just hope that we haven't soured an entire generation on the necessity, from time to time, of using force because Iraq has been such a debacle. That would be tragic because Iran is a grave threat.

We need a foreign policy that is both tough... and smart. The good news? That is the historic legacy of the Democratic Party.

I find the world just too complex to embrace a single ideological point of view.

It doesn't take a degree in economics to know that something is wrong when it takes $30 or $40 to fill up the gas tank.

The only way Democrats can govern in this country is by making common cause with moderates and independents.

Tim Kaine is a good man.

As Indiana's governor, I balanced eight budgets, never raised taxes, and left the largest surplus in state history. It wasn't always easy. Cuts had to be made and some initiatives deferred. Occasionally I had to say 'no.'

Baseball may be our national pastime, but the age-old tradition of taking a swing at Congress is a sport with even deeper historical roots in the American experience. Since the founding of our country, citizens from Ben Franklin to David Letterman have made fun of their elected officials.

We should be proud of liberating the 26 million people in Iraq and should remember that this is why it is important to stick it out to it's successful conclusion.

Sometimes, it takes leaving to gain some perspective. I see that clearly every time I leave Washington, D.C., and return to Indiana. I see the bizarre bubble that seems to enclose the Beltway and makes people forget what regular people care about.

I've always cared about education, and I worked with Senator Schumer on making several thousand dollars of college tuition tax deductible. That will help a lot of your middle class families make college more affordable.

America is stronger than ever. We will forever remember those we lost on September 11, 2001. In honoring their memory, we will remain true to our commitment to freedom and democracy.