Antonio Villaraigosa

Don't let the Monday morning quarterbacks stop you from being bold. You've got to set a high bar.

I've made no secret that although I loved being a legislator, I particularly loved being a chief executive.

Let me be clear - no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.

Look, you're not going to get me to say that Democrats don't make mistakes. We do. I mentioned two areas - pension reform and seniority and tenure. I've done both - I've advocated for both. I've advocated for - seek for reform as well.

In no small part I think all of us kind of look in the mirror and feel good or not feel good about the person we seen in the mirror in no small part because of the jobs we have.

I believe that the mayor of the most diverse city anywhere in the world has to be a uniter, has to be someone that's comfortable in every community, has to be someone that represents all of us.

The Democrats and Republicans need to come together. I've criticized Democrats for their unwillingness to address entitlement reform and Social Security and Medicare. Republicans, on the other hand, never saw a tax that they liked, even when it meant closing tax loopholes. They don't want to in any way support any revenue enhancements.

I believe in family values, and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don't think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.

I know that my heart and my family are here in California, not in Washington, D.C.

My father was predisposed to drunken rages. I would hide under the bed. My sister and I were talking just the other day about the terror a drunken man in a rage can create in a child.

Some critics say I spent too much time on politics. I don't put much stock in the critics.

How you are perceived is over a continuum of time. So I just keep on working. I've kind of always seen that as the antidote. Just keep on working.