Growing up, I watched my single mother work hard to provide for her three kids. She raised us in a one-bathroom house on a public-school teacher's salary of $22,000 a year.

There is a disconnect between Arkansas and Washington, D.C. The career politicians in Washington are not listening to people here in Arkansas, and this is the fundamental problem with politics.

Arkansas families need to feel safe in their homes and communities, which is why we need a U.S. Senator who will address threats - both at home and abroad - head on.

Arkansas needs leaders who will stand up to anyone in Washington, from either political party, and do what's right for Arkansas and for our country.

If for no other reason than the energy crisis now facing this country, the federal government should be eager to become partners with us in rebuilding our city.

The Philippines, it has a politics of patronage. Family and favors, in addition to the old cliche of guns, goons and gold, really do still hold a lot of sway.

Love is blind. My politics has been, too. I think you can fall in love with ideas, and you can fall in love with people. It's a very subjective experience. And I'm loyal to that experience.

Thus, neither my government nor myself, personally, are without ideals and responsibilities.