The Washington black community was able to succeed beyond his wildest dreams. I mean we had our own newspapers our own restaurants our own theaters our own small shops our own clubs our own Masonic lodges.

The Hispanic community values entrepreneurship and family-owned businesses and we deserve a leader in Washington who is dedicated to creating an environment where our values our goals and our dreams of prosperity can become reality.

Washington not Jefferson freed his slaves upon his death.

I admired Eugene McCarthy's courage and although I left his Senate staff after four years to accept a job as the researcher on the editorial page of the 'Washington Post ' I remained an admirer.

Washington's answer to a self-inflicted financial crisis reminded Americans why they so deeply distrust the political class. The 'fiscal cliff' process was secretive and sloppy and the nation's so-called leadership lacked the political courage to address our root problems: joblessness and debt.

We got to do a few things with President Clinton. To be invited to Washington again to play with Ashanti and all those other cool people there in front of President Bush and the rest of the world feels awesome. I'm really looking forward to going.

My family moved - first to Washington D.C. and then in the spring of 1975 to Lebanon where my father worked as a diplomat at the American embassy. My parents were enthusiastic about the move so my older brother and I felt like we were off to some place kind of cool.

I actually use a computer a lot. I have three computers that I use on a regular basis - one is on my desk top in my Washington office another is at home and I have my laptop that I use when I'm travelling.

I don't think I'm really open to having Washington change me.

Washington is still very much a male-oriented culture. Being from Los Angeles I think it is less so there - there is less attachment to tradition perhaps there is more flexibility more acceptance of change generally. That is partly because of Hollywood.

I ran for president in order to be able to try to change Washington D.C. from the inside. Our federal government is broken.

I got all the respect in the world for the front-runners in this race but ask yourself: If we replace a Democratic insider with a Republican insider you think we're really going to change Washington D.C.? You don't have to settle for Washington and Wall Street insiders who supported the Wall Street bailout and the Obamacare individual mandate.

The New Dealers have all left Washington to make way for the car dealers.

Mayors could never get away with the kind of nonsense that goes on in Washington. In our world you either picked up the trash or you didn't. You either moved an abandoned car or you didn't. You either filled a pothole or you didn't. That's what we do every day. And we know how to get this stuff done.

I started out mopping floors waiting tables and tending bar at my dad's tavern. I put myself through school working odd jobs and night shifts. I poured my heart and soul into a small business. And when I saw how out-of-touch Washington had become with the core values of this great nation I put my name forward and ran for office.

Washington has to become an ally of business not the opposition of business.

It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient more transparent and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.

Activist government overreach and ongoing economic stagnation have shown us why Washington should not try to displace what is best left to civil society.

Somehow the greater the public opposition to the health care bill the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway. Their attitude shows Washington at its very worst - the presumption that they know best and they're going to get their way whether the American people like it or not.

It's so amazing standing on the corner -this happened in Washington D.C. - and somebody comes by in a Cadillac and you hear 'Manic Monday' on the radio and you don't even know this person and they're listening to it and singing along with it. Wow! Blows your mind.

If you spend enough time in or around Washington you'll meet amazing people who work for the government.

I was the first spokesperson for the Better Hearing Institute in Washington. And that's the message we tried to send out - there is hearing help out there and the technology and options are amazing.

Well I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment and I've learned quickly these last few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

The progress of evolution from President Washington to President Grant was alone evidence to upset Darwin.