Sometimes when I listen to fellow progressives I wonder if the only lesson we took away from the '04 elections is that politics is a word game.

The lesson of the last year is this: foreign policy can't be managed through the politics of personality and our President would do well to take note of an observation John F. Kennedy made once he was in office - that all of the world's problems aren't his predecessor's fault.

We discussed politics but we also talked about the importance of hard work personal responsibility living within your means keeping your word. Those lessons stay with you throughout your life.

One lesson you better learn if you want to be in politics is that you never go out on a golf course and beat the President.

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.

That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace and I saw him making war. He mobilized me before the war. The man was a very rare combination between a real intellectual and a born leader. There is a contradiction between the two.

The lessons from the peace process are clear whatever life throws at us our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing the load.

Because I know about the Holy Land I've taught lessons about the Holy Land all my life and - but you can't bring peace to Israel without giving the Palestinian also peace. And Lebanon and Jordan and Syria as well.

The very first lesson that I learnt from the Qur'an was the message of unity and peace.

He who follows his lessons tastes a profound peace and looks upon everybody as a bunch of manure.