There are fewer unwanted pregnancies and fewer occasions where a woman is confronted with that decision if she has access to family planning and birth control. That's why I support Planned Parenthood; that's why I support Title X.

The evidence is pretty strong: if you have access to family planning and birth control, the abortion rate is going to go down.

Currently, many job seekers must check a box on their applications indicating whether they have a criminal history. These boxes are often used as proxies for job fitness, and job-seekers with criminal histories frequently find themselves screened out of contention. As a matter of basic fairness and also economic sense, it's time to ban the box.

Sometimes I, as a public official, turn to Scripture or hymns - especially hymns, because sometimes we Catholics don't have the Scriptures memorized like we should - to help me explain a public policy position or an idea or to be able to articulate it better when you're talking about justice or mercy or compassion.

There's a very big gulf between the black civil rights leadership in America and the black middle class in America. The black middle class are conservative. Many of those minorities can be persuaded to be members of the Republican Party.

Every time you play for your country, there is responsibility. But when you are captaining, you can say so; you have to lead from the front and make sure the team follows the direction you want them to.

Obama is thoroughly mixed up with all these things he's got. He's got to solve Libya. He's got to solve Afghanistan. He's everywhere. And this nation, I don't know why it's not showing the leadership and capacity to attend different issues at the same time.

Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves - and by which they are willing to be judged.