The great thing about our system of democracy is when they call you for jury duty, you have to come... It's an honor and a privilege. I was called and I've got to be here.

My father was predisposed to drunken rages. I would hide under the bed. My sister and I were talking just the other day about the terror a drunken man in a rage can create in a child.

Let me be clear - no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.

I got to grow up with a mother who taught me to believe in me.

The great thing about our system of democracy is when they call you for jury duty, you have to come... It's an honor and a privilege. I was called and I've got to be here.

Actually, as president of the Conference of Mayors, we passed the Simpson-Bowles plan as a template, as a template, as a frame work for moving forward and the president has done the same.

Again, if I was going to call Romney and the Republicans stupid, I'm certainly not going to call the Democrats and President Obama stupid.

Because we believe that you got to build the economy from middle out and not from the top down.

But I will say, I think there are some Democrats that don't want to address pension reform. I have taken on the issue of seniority and tenure. I think we have to address entitlements and the president has done that in his budget. I think we have to extend Medicare and the president has done that. But also reinvest in that program.

Don't let the Monday morning quarterbacks stop you from being bold. You've got to set a high bar.

I believe in family values, and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don't think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.

I don't want to describe either Governor Mitt Romney or the Republicans as stupid, but I will say this - if you look at their platform, the 2012 platform, it looks like it's from another century and maybe even two. It looks like the platform of 1812.

I have decided not to run for the U.S. Senate and instead continue my efforts to make California a better place to live, work, and raise a family. We have come a long way, but our work is not done, and neither am I.

I'm not looking for a battle with anybody, neither the council nor our labor partners.

I'm not one of the people who have to be in public office.

I've made no secret that although I loved being a legislator, I particularly loved being a chief executive.

In no small part I think all of us kind of look in the mirror and feel good or not feel good about the person we seen in the mirror in no small part because of the jobs we have.

Look, you're not going to get me to say that Democrats don't make mistakes. We do. I mentioned two areas - pension reform and seniority and tenure. I've done both - I've advocated for both. I've advocated for - seek for reform as well.

My kids and I are spending time together. And we're enjoying that. Family is important; I was gone a lot in the 20 years of public service.

So laying people off is not something I do lightly, it's not something I relish.

The Golden State has lost its luster. We've got to change our tax system and how we fund government. We're going to have to make it easier to create jobs in California, incentivize manufacturing, really put more in the way of investment in our public school system and our institutions of higher learning if we're going to stay the Golden State.

There are teachers' unions around the country realizing they want to improve standards of the profession, improve the quality of their profession, and ultimately attract the best and the brightest to their profession. The vast majority of teachers are dedicated and committed.

Too many Californians are struggling to make ends meet, pay the bills, and send their kids to college. They are looking for progressive leaders in Washington who will fight for them, like Senator Boxer has done for over 20 years.

We're not a homogeneous party, anymore than the Republicans are. But we are a party that I think has a plan to take us forward.

When I ran the first time in 2001, they called me 'The Latino Mayor.' By the time I left in 2013, with a 58 percent approval rating, half the people liked me, half the people didn't. I was everybody's mayor. There was never any criticism that I was just for one group.

You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate.

You've got to do what's right, or what you think is right. And you've got to make tough decisions. And you've got to be willing to take on your friends when you disagree with them.

Dont let the Monday morning quarterbacks stop you from being bold. Youve got to set a high bar.

Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.

The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself-always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity.

In democracy everyone has the right to be represented, even the jerks.

But democracy isn't a state of perfection. It has to be improved, and that means constant vigilance.

Democracy is stronger than terrorism, and we will not cower to the terrorists' campaign of fear.

Our brave soldiers and support personnel are engaged in a battle as important as any the United States has ever before waged, for the success of democracy in Iraq is a crucial test of the ideals this Nation was founded upon.

American and Israel share a special bond. Our relationship is unique among all nations. Like America, Israel is a strong democracy, a symbol of freedom, and an oasis of liberty, a home to the oppressed and persecuted.

Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by Jackasses.

Until the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its most conspicuous and sacred responsibility, all talks of the sovereignty of Parliament and of democracy is idle and futile.

And when we draw lines in the sand with regard to certain basic things that are vital to our interest and to the interest of democracy and our friends around the world, we have to be willing to back that up.

While Kuwait is not a democracy, giving only half the population a voice in their government is not a policy this Congress should support and one that I am glad that Kuwait's leaders are changing.

It's true that the war in Iraq opened a distance in relations between part of Europe and the U.S. government, but our basic ties are stronger than that. We share democracy, free markets and a commitment to Western security. We differ on how to guarantee that security.

The best Governments of the World have bin composed of Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Democracy.

If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: "Thou shalt not ration justice."

One has the right to be wrong in a democracy.

In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival.

There is something inherent in our democracy that tends to want to level. America is a little uncomfortable in the presence of someone who is distinctly superior in whatever way.

Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.

The Election Assistance Commission represents a major, unprecedented commitment from the federal government to sustained freedom and vibrant democracy. I am humbled by the prospect of being one its charter members.

It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.

Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least.