I just don't think the Democratic party is going to vote for someone because of the colour of their skin. They care about their values. They care what they're going to fight for. They care about their vision for the future.

Maryland's different than Virginia. Maryland has certain advantages that Virginia doesn't have and certain disadvantages... We should just worry about ourselves and not worry about comparisons.

There's a lot of new subject matter to learn. You start slowly peeling the onion and start figuring out how the policy and the politics intersect.

I leave Medicare alone. I create a new system for everyone under 65 where they get health care as a right. It's a basic plan. We roll Medicaid into that, but then we allow people to have choices and get private insurance to supplement that basic government plan.

I am for a system of universal health care where every American has health care as a fundamental right because I think that's where we should be as a civilized society.

We have to treat people who cross our borders with a measure of dignity. Right? It has to be reflective of our values.

Our electoral process has created perverse incentives that have warped our democracy and empowered special interests and a vocal minority.

Small businesses are more nimble and innovative than large corporations, and as a result are much more likely to develop the breakthrough ideas we need for global competitiveness.

Oil is largely our energy past, and Keystone does little to respond to the actual challenges and opportunities before us.

What was once a fringe idea - finding a way to use the record levels of overseas capital to finance new projects in the United States - is now mainstream. The support is there; we just have to work out the details.

Economic policy is like business - it's all about compromise.

Maryland is never going to be the low-cost place to live and work, and we shouldn't try to be because we have a lot of other stuff we bring to the table. And you get what you pay for.

Low interest rates benefit individuals or investors who own or want to buy assets; in that regard, they disproportionately benefit wealthier Americans.

No veteran or active duty service member should endure a long hospital stay alone. Yet sadly, due to the high cost of travel, all too often our military families are separated while America's heroes receive care. Sometimes families sleep in hospital parking lots, unable to afford long stays in a hotel.

I am dedicated to making sure Social Security will be there for future generations and have written legislation to strengthen the program.

As a cosigner of the Veterans' Bill of Rights, I'm committed to making sure that veterans' issues remain a top priority in Congress.

When active duty ends, we have an obligation to uphold our own pledge: a pledge to ensure that every veteran receives the care and benefits they deserve.

We have been dealt a very weak hand by the financial market meltdown, bailouts, and recession. We can't act like it's a strong one.

The presidency of the United States is a very unique elected position. So if anything merits a longer vetting process, the presidency does to some extent. In general our election cycles are too long, but this job is so consequential that I don't think it's a bad thing to give people more time to get to know you.

Congressional dysfunction is the logical result of closed primaries, too many gerrymandered one-party seats, and low-turnout elections.

I know a moderate, more centered candidate like myself doesn't get as much attention as people who tend to say more extreme things.

I'm not advocating spending less on the elderly, but I am strongly advocating spending more on kids while also putting the country on a sound, long-term fiscal trajectory. To do that, we have to reduce the rate of growth of entitlement-related expenditures and add more revenues.

Imagine a country where the vast majority of seniors live in poverty, a country where for many there are no golden years, but a time of struggle and dependence. That was the United States before the creation of Social Security, which has proven to be one of the most effective and important government programs in our history.

A lack of reform - particularly in international tax - has hurt our ability to compete in a global economy by keeping U.S. corporate cash overseas and reducing domestic investment, slowing economic growth.

I'm a Democrat in that I work towards progressive things, but I also am laser-like focused in my desire to actually get things done and not just talk about it.

Some people call me a moderate, some people call me a progressive. In truth, what I've worked on in the Congress and always - going to presidential campaigns - are these big, bold progressive ideas.

Our safety and security is more important than ever, and Congress needs to take an active role in enforcing international agreements that support global security.

America's disabled veterans answered our country's call, and when their time in uniform is done, our country must stand with them.

I was a big supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I worked very closely with President Obama on that.

No military or veteran family should have to choose between paying their bills and being together while one of our nation's heroes is in the hospital.

An institution that borrows on a non-prioritized basis would never contemplate borrowing on a prioritized basis. Doing so would undermine its standing in the bond market and suggest that it is not worthy of its strong credit rating. This type of self-imposed downgrade would materially affect its financial prospects.

What the establishment was trying to do was to position me as a Republican running in the Democratic primary.

In my private sector career, two of my favorite sayings were, 'Strategy is easy and execution is really hard,' and that we should 'run at criticism.'

We really need to move to a bit of a post-partisan world where we actually start solving problems and stop kind of living in a country where the political leaders act like half the country is entirely wrong about everything they believe and increasingly try to pit American against American.

The need to change our country's fiscal trajectory, including reforming entitlement programs, is an unassailable reality that will define our time.

Repealing the estate tax won't create jobs, it won't boost GDP, and it won't add efficiency to the market. Instead, repealing the estate tax will simply add to the debt, hurt our ability to build a stronger economy and worsen economic inequality.

I don't say bad things about my Republican colleagues, ever.

My mother wanted me to be a doctor.

I think dealing with climate change should be a centerpiece of any campaign in the 2020 election cycle. Yet I'm the only one with a bipartisan carbon tax bill.

There are definitely problems with technology companies, mostly around privacy, in my opinion, and the fact that they don't protect our privacy and we haven't passed privacy laws.

By any measure, CapitalSource outperformed both our direct competitors and the financial services industry in general, particularly in the context of the near collapse of the financial services industry where 19 of the 20 largest financial institutions in the country either failed or were bailed out by the government.

Representative democracy is in crisis in the United States.

We already spend too few days in Congress working on meaningful legislation; we simply can't afford to waste more time on legislation that doesn't move the needle to improve the lives of everyday Americans.

Federal spending is like a massive ship that takes a very long time to turn.

As an entrepreneur and public company CEO, I've dealt with dozens of rollouts, and when unveiling a new product, the operating approach should be, 'Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.'

I strongly believe in a free market, and it is great when companies make money and pay their people well.

Our employment future rests on the shoulders of the small employer, and we should be investing with them.

If you approach economic policy with the spirit of compromise, you can actually get good support.

You can't really yell, 'Charge!' and hope to have your team behind you unless they agree that the hill you are trying to take is a hill you should take.

For years, comprehensive tax reform has eluded legislators.