When I was a little girl growing up in Elmira, I always wanted to be a lawyer.

People tune into court shows because they want to learn something and see resolution quickly.

As someone who's run for office five times, if the Devil called me and said he wanted to set up a meeting to give me opposition research on my opponent, I'd be on the first trolley to Hell to get it. And any politician who tells you otherwise is a bald-faced liar.

I don't discuss my career with my husband.

I think several generations of my family had novels in the drawer. You know the montage in 'The Royal Tenenbaums' where each character has produced some sort of minor work? It was like having a magician in the household.

Unemployment, low wages, and poverty discourage family formation and erode family stability, making it less likely that individuals will marry in the first place and more likely that their marriages will dissolve.

As young kids, we had a lot of tenacity. Life was tough at home, so it was easy to go out in the world and try.

My family was very supportive of whatever I wanted because my grandfather was an opera singer. My dad's dad. So my dad has an appreciation for the arts, and he let me choose my own path.