I'm an old Democrat and Mike's a Republican, so we got into a lot of discussions.

He probably had a very good handle on the separation of local and state.

From my experience with Mike, he not only worked very hard on everything he did, he had very high standards.

I don't think you can find any Republican in the country who wouldn't be ecstatic to go to a fund-raiser with the president or vice president and have their picture taken. They are still a huge draw.

When the phonies are expelled from their leadership roles and the Republican Party backs a moderate gubernatorial candidate acceptable to the rank and file with proper financing and the intestinal fortitude to fight the good fight, the rank and file will rejoin the fold.

I think anybody in office — Republican or Democrat — is somewhat concerned, because, unlike a lot of other big issues out there, this one impacts people where they care about it most, and that's their pocketbook.