The first time I met Bill Clinton was actually 1988.

Clinton had absolutely zero honeymoon, none whatsoever.

You can't leave out half the world's experience and expect to address all the problems. Women communicate differently and process information differently, which leads them to resolve conflicts differently.

A lot of people over time have had this kind of pattern in their relationship with Bill Clinton. You first meet him and you're overwhelmed by his talent. He's so energetic and articulate and full of ideas and he calls himself a congenital optimist and that optimism is contagious.

The dirty little secret is that the pool man, who's making $30,000 a year, is subsidizing the million-dollar mortgage for the family whose pool he cleans. No wonder people want to get rid of tax breaks for corporate jets.

I am encouraged to see women are being elected in Chile, Argentina, Liberia, Ireland. More is more.

Women's particular experiences continue to shape not just their points of view but their actions, in the United States and around the world.

It's a lot easier to opine from the sidelines.

Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy.

It never occurred to me that I wouldn't go to college and have a career - as well as a family - of my own. Both my parents, but especially my mother, encouraged me and led me to believe that it was possible.

Yes, Bill Clinton is a big flirt.

Because if you say men and women are the same and if male behaviour is the norm, and women are always expected to act like men, we will never be as good at being men as men are.

On the day I started college in 1979, no woman had ever been on the United States Supreme Court or served as the Speaker of the House. None had been an astronaut or the solo anchor of a network evening news broadcast. Not one had been president of an Ivy League college or run a serious campaign for president.

Obama seemed poised to realign American politics after his stunning 2008 victory. But the economy remains worse than even the administration's worst-case scenarios, and the long legislative battles over health care reform, financial services reform and the national debt and deficit have taken their toll. Obama no longer looks invincible.

I look forward to a time, in the not so distant future, when we no longer look forward to 'firsts' as milestones women have yet to achieve, but we look back on them as historic events that continue to teach and inspire.

That's not to say that women's priorities are better than men's. Rather, when women are empowered, when they can speak from the experience of their own lives, they often address different, previously neglected issues. And families and whole communities benefit.

I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn't. Hey, it made me a better leader: you have to take a lot of people's needs into account; you have to look down the road. Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy.

Look, there are people hurting in this country. We have to find solutions to make their lives better, right?

We - our children need a quality public education.

I think it's important that we have different perspectives. We need more diversity in Congress.

The Republicans cry for smaller government; however, it seems that at every turn, they work at interfering with the lives of Americans, and we can add food-choice to the list.

Time and again, it has been proven that SNAP benefits are the most valuable government stimulus we can have for local economies.

A free and open Internet is crucial for innovation and the exchange of information and ideas. It allows grassroots communities to organize and mobilize against injustice across our nation and the globe. It's good for business, consumers, and our entire economy.

In spite of our agonizing history, Native American people find much to celebrate. The songs, the dances, the culture and traditions surrounding planting and harvests, the prayers that are sent upward for healing and peace, and the welcoming of children into our families, are all reasons for us to keep moving forward with optimism.