At home you always have to be a politician when you're abroad you almost feel yourself a statesman.

I just get so fed up with seeing the same things written about me. If I see the words 'ice queen' attached to me I feel like banging my head against the wall. There's this perception that I can only be in a film if I have a glass of champagne in my hand and a stately home in the background.

It's also much clearer how much damage the occupation of Iraq is doing to America's reputation and prestige around the world and that's just starting now to hit home in the United States.

Don't kid yourself. President Obama's decision to withdraw 33 000 troops from Afghanistan before he stands for reelection is not driven by the United States' 'position of strength' in the war zone as much as it is by grim economic and political realities at home.

Child abuse and neglect offend the basic values of our state. We have a responsibility to provide safe settings for at-risk children and facilitate permanent placement for children who cannot return home.

If I were running to be somebody there are a lot of easier sombodies to be. After all running against the incumbent governor of your own party in your home state is not the next logical step in a political life.

We live in a world where amnesia is the most wished-for state. When did history become a bad word?

Macon has such a rich musical history - and the state of Georgia as well.

Of course the Republicans have long wanted to privatize Social Security and destroy it. But Social Security has been the most important and valuable social program in the history of the United States.

I am intrigued by inanimate objects. They're a piece of history someone's statement and ideas of life.