Working hard and working smart sometimes can be two different things.

People habitat has to take priority over bird habitat.

When we ask American men and women in uniform to fight for this country and to defend this country's interest and then to send them overseas, there is no question we have an obligation to protect them and provide for their safety.

There is no social program in this country that is as important as a good job that pays well, that gives someone an opportunity to go to work, have some security, have benefits, and take care of their family and have a good life.

We need leadership, and we need it now.

The taxpayers deserve accountability.

Nowhere in this country should we have laws that permit drinking and driving or drinking in vehicles that are on American highways. This is not rocket science. We know how to prevent this, and 36 states do.

If you talk about preemption you better know things rather than think things.

This country is about, in my judgment, aggressive, open debate. There is an old saying: When everyone is thinking the same thing, no one is thinking very much.

Is there decency left in American politics?

This galloping concentration in broadcast ownership is unhealthy.

When businesses face tough times, one of the first items they cut is overhead expenses. The government should do the same.

The Bush Administration and the Congress have to stop ignoring this crisis in international trade. The longer we ignore it, the more American jobs will move overseas. It's just that simple.

I am proud to be in the Senate. I have always been proud to be a part of our political system. It is a remarkable privilege to participate in this system of ours.

I came into American politics and into this political system proud of politics and the way we make decisions.

All of us aspire to give our children something more, leave a country to our children that is a better one, a stronger one, with better jobs and growth and opportunity.

If the Administration does nothing, high gasoline prices will continue to increasingly burden our economy, taking millions of dollars out of the hands of families and putting it straight into the pockets of OPEC.

I am not someone who believes we should build a fence around our country but I do believe there ought to be some fairness with respect to the rules of this globalization.

This country needs to get a backbone and stand up for its economic interest.

The U.S. Constitution is the basic framework for the greatest democracy on Earth. Some of my colleagues find it easy to amend it. I don't.

You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility.

Working hard and working smart sometimes can be two different things.

I don't feel responsible for things I didn't vote for.

You can delegate authority but you cannot delegate responsibility.

My mom was a single mom, and she had enough on her plate. I knew when I was doing something I wasn't supposed to, and I tried to keep her from finding out about it. I did a pretty good job of that.

I never accepted the idea that I had to be guided by some pattern or blueprint.

The strange thing about the sunset is that we actually don't want the sun to set, we want it to stay right on the horizon, not below it, not above it, just right on it!

It takes a major unhappiness, a prolonged and bitter experience, to drive us away from loyalties once formed. And sometimes no amount of punishment can make us repudiate our loyalty.

Know how to drive safely when it's raining or when it's snowing. The two conditions are different.

I think we've found a better solution on North Haven and Vinalhaven: Instead of paying increasing expensive electric bills every month, with the money going out of our community, out of state, and even out of the country, the wind turbines bring the promise of decades of steady rates with the money staying right here.

Worry ducks when purpose flies overhead.

Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

You have to make a conscious decision to change for your own well-being and that of your family and your country.

The weird thing about metal fans is we're all so maladjusted in a lot of ways. We're individualistic and opinionated and severe in our personalities - sometimes we really turn each other off. A little bit of a metal fan goes a long way.

If you really want to write, then shut yourself in a room, close the door, and WRITE. If you don't want to write, do something else. It's as simple as that.

You know, I consistently change in my own life so the roles I'm suitable for also change, and that's a really nice thing about this profession.

Authors are sometimes like tomcats: They distrust all the other toms but they are kind to kittens.

I try to create as many circumstances outside of set that help me fall into character when I get onto set.

Beauty is not something you can count on. Usually, when people say you are beautiful, it is when there is a harmony between the inside and the outside.

My platform has been to reach reluctant readers. And one of the best ways I found to motivate them is to connect them with reading that interests them, to expand the definition of reading to include humor, science fiction/fantasy, nonfiction, graphic novels, wordless books, audio books and comic books.

It's important to choose initial investors who are not twitchy and rushing for an exit. Wall Street's quarter-by-quarter lens may make the CEO make sub-optimal long-term decisions.

I've never done a big studio film, I've only ever done little ones.

My knowledge of trains - and love before first sight, love at negative-one sight - comes from Alfred Hitchcock.

I really don't think I ever thought I could be a model. I was shorter than all of the models around and certainly rounder than anybody that I had ever seen in a magazine.

You should never ever put yourself down. You are a work in progress; you will make mistakes.

While I revel in the memories of my own Grammy moment, I also know how it feels to walk away empty-handed.

Nothing is to be rated higher than the value of the day.

Banks are there to support businesses that have justifiable needs.