We have the tools, but we have to learn how to use them. That is my political philosophy.

When the problems in Northern Ireland started, it was not a question of Protestantism or Catholicism, because the Catholic church was the only church at that time-it was a nationalist conflict.

That is where consensus-building begins-with the idea that you have your own truth, but that the negotiator on the other side of the table has his own truth as well.

Discussion is just a tool. You have to aim; the final goal must be a decision.

Mr. Obama seeks to federalize large portions of education, beginning with his attempt to nationalize college student loans.

I had gone to New York with no plan at all. I did a lot of jobs - barman, teacher, security guard, postman and construction worker - and I was meeting many eccentric characters, and they were saying funny things, which I always wrote down.

As a former teacher and a mother and grandmother, I know firsthand the importance of a quality education.

In the Brown decision, the United States Supreme Court unanimously struck down the legal and moral footing of racially segregated public education in this country.