"I pinch myself because of the understanding that I've been blessed with a real rare opportunity that few Americans ever get - to serve their government and their people at this level."

"America is the story of everyday people who did extraordinary things. A story woven deep into the fabric of our society."

"But since her earliest days, America has inspired people from all over the world. Inspired them with the hope that one day their own countries would be one like this one."

"We are a people that have always celebrated other people's success so long as we always had the opportunity to meet that success ourselves. That is the American nature. That is the American character. That is one of the things that makes us different from the rest of the world. And I'm afraid we could lose that or are on the verge of losing that."

"It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages."

"The issues that matter to me are the social safety nets for people, health care, middle-class concerns. We need to take care of the middle class and the poor in our country."

"So live that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."

"True wealth is not measured in gold, but in the belief that the bonds of friendship are the true treasures of existence."