I was raised in the Washington household of my grandfather Senator Thomas P. Gore of Oklahoma, and have known politicians intimately all my life.

I was born in Fayette County, over in Lexington, Kentucky, but I was raised most of my life in Paintsville.

I was raised on a ranch in Wyoming, and I've been riding horses most of my life.

Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No longer will children's minds be twisted by evil gods whose fantastic origin is in those barbaric tribes who feared death and lightning, who feared life. That's it: life is the villain to to those who preach reward in death, through grace and eternal bliss, or through dark revenge.

That's just how I live my life. That's how I was raised: to demand excellence out of myself.

I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life.