I don’t like mimicking people. I don’t like repeating talking points. I don’t like arguing with people just to argue. I like actually coming up with an interesting thing to say that I don’t think has been said before in that way.

The idea that Democrats have a lock on the female vote is contradicted by history.

We tend to think of the House as a less historically significant legislative body than the Senate. There are more representatives than there are senators, they’re up for re-election every two years, and many come and go without having much of an impact."

I get Google alerts that automatically let me know when someone’s calling me a nutjob.

There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?

Maybe if I'd had more direct contact with death, I wouldn't find it so fascinating and I wouldn't write about it so much.

When a president makes life and death decisions, he should draw strength and wisdom from broad and deep experience with the reasons for and the risks of committing our children to our defense. For no matter how many others are involved in the decision, the president is a lonely man in a dark room when the casualty reports come in.

If you think of life and death on a continuum, finding the point where it tips is complicated. It cuts across all political lines and gets to the root of our humanity. It requires faith informed by years of intimacy that you're doing what's right for your loved one.