The tradition has been that nominees are never asked how they are going to decide cases.

I was more than surprised; I was shocked.

I think we can have a real debate about these policies, and I think it's critical that we do.

Language like 'victory and defeat,' 'win or lose,' which, in my judgment, is both inaccurate and misleading.

I was glad that Senator Kerry raised the question of how important it is to have a full and substantive debate about troop levels.

It's critically important we get that right.

What Senator Harkin and I can have some influence on is the appropriations process.

We have a duty to do more about protecting children.

What comes through to me is that we just don't know what the answer is.

We are spending $2 trillion on a system that doesn't work for people.

I remain outraged at the outlook facing so many American children.

So in both groups you have got almost a quarter of them living in poverty, both African Americans and Hispanics.

I don't know a family in Pennsylvania, or America--haven't met them yet, hope I never meet them--who will walk up to us and say, 'Don't do anything about health care.'

We have got to get to work and get it done and give him a bill.

Deamonte died because he could not get $80 worth of treatment.

I appealed to my colleagues in Congress to guarantee that dental coverage was included in the recent state Children's Health Insurance Program.

Unfortunately, a lot of people won't feel that for a long, long time--feel it in a positive way, because job loss will still be high.

That is the direction we are headed right now, inexorably, undeniably, if we just sit back and say, 'It got a little complicated. We couldn't do it.'