Dad worked in a warehouse when I was little and I didn't see him for three years as he was doing all the overtime God gave him to buy me new ballet shoes or a new tutu.

My mom grew up in poverty in Oklahoma - like Dust Bowl nine people in one room kind of place - and the way she got out of poverty was through education. My dad grew up without a dad with very little and he also made his way out through education.

My dad is like a cactus - introverted and tough. I'm a people person like my mom but I got my competitiveness from my dad. He came to this country from Belarus with nothing and built a real business. He's my hero for giving me that need to run a business and for having enormous confidence in me.

In times of conflict war poverty or religious fundamentalism women and children are the first and most numerous victims. Women need all their courage today.

What I've always said is that I'm opposed to institutional racism and I would've had I've been alive at the time I think had the courage to march with Martin Luther King to overturn institutional racism and I see no place in our society for institutional racism.

It's interesting to feel the pressure of having to be outgoing because I think in general as a human being I'm pessimistic and introverted. But it's cool because it's a whole different side of me and I impress myself. Even at times when I think that there's no possible way that I can be engaging I'll suddenly pull it out and impress myself.

The first legislation that I produced relating to the Internet was a bill to overturn a restriction inside of the law that prohibited the Internet backbone from being used for anything other than research and scientific and educational communication.

This nation has always struggled with how it was going to deal with poor people and people of color. Every few years you will see some great change in the way that they approach this. We've had the war on poverty that never really got into waging a real war on poverty.

For an introvert his environment is himself and can never be subject to startling or unforeseen change.

Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.