I go through major crises every few months, but then I have great peaks of belief and creativity. I'm a weird kind of animal.

I was elected to solve problems, and I don't think it's conservative to have bad roads; I don't think it's conservative to have bad schools. I don't think it's conservative to have to go through budget crises every two years. So I'm taking the difficult issues straight on. That's what I was elected to do.

Don't forget that compared to a grownup person every baby is a genius. Think of the capacity to learn! The freshness, the temperament, the will of a baby a few months old!

It's the bedsit culture: people get a cat, and then, in a few months, when they move on or go travelling, they just throw the animal out. It's so discouraging.

As you go through life, you've got to see the valleys as well as the peaks.

Every time I listen to Jeff Beck my whole view of guitar changes radically. He's way, way out, doing things you never expect.