SHOUT-OUT TO JOHN EDWARDS: "I want to make sure that I say a special thanks to John and Elizabeth Edwards, because they really set the tone for this presidential race with their courage, with their ideas, with their passion and their commitment for working people, and making sure that we focus our attention on not just the haves, not even the have-a-littles-and-want-mores, but on the have-nots in America."

ON POLITICS AS USUAL: "I know that it's easy sometimes to get caught up in the divisions and the distractions that have nothing to do with the profound issues we face in this 21st century -- two wars abroad, a planet that is in peril, an economy that isn't working for working people, and a politics that is being paralyzed to do anything about it."

ON JOHN McCAIN: "The fact of the matter is that John McCain is running for George Bush's third term, and we cannot afford another four years of George W. Bush's policies in the White House."

ON THE GAS-TAX HOLIDAY IDEA: "When we're offering the same things that John McCain is offering on the cheap, that means we are not presenting a truthful response to the challenges we face in America. We can do better than that this time. We've got to take advantage. America is looking for the truth."

ON TRADE: "I believe in free trade, but I want to make sure that our trade reflects the interests not just of Wall Street but of Main Street."

ON DEMOCRATIC UNITY: "Let me say this -- we are going to be united in the fall. This party will come together. If Hillary Clinton were the nominee, I would support her in a heartbeat. And I know that if I am the nominee that she will support me. ... One thing that I can say is our differences pale in comparison to our differences with the other party."

ON INCLUSIVENESS: "We've got to open up our arms and say we want everybody -- black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight. We want everybody under the banner of a new America."