ABC This Week interviews during 2015: on Principles & Values

Ben Carson: Islam is inconsistent with the Constitution

CARSON: I said anybody, doesn't matter what their religious background, if they accept American values and principles and are willing to subjugate their religious beliefs to our Constitution. I have no problem with them. But right now, when you have something that is against the rights of women, against the rights of gays, subjugates other religions, and a host of things that are not compatible with our Constitution, why in fact would you take that chance?

Lawrence Lessig: Acknowledge elephant in the room: partisanship doesn't work

LESSIG: I'm running to get people to acknowledge the elephant in the room. We have to recognize we have a government that does not work. This stalemated, partisan platform of American politics in Washington right now doesn't work. And we have to find a way to elevate the debate to focus on the changes that would actually get us a government that could work again, that is not captured by the tiniest fraction of the 1% who fund campaigns.

Q: So, campaign finance reform, voting rights reform?

And also dealing with crazy way we have political gerrymandering where politicians pick the voters rather than the voters pick the politicians.

Q: And you're saying that if you win, if you become president and you pass that platform, you'll resign?

LESSIG: That's right. Because what we need is a focus that could cut across partisan lines and say this is the mandate. The mandate is to achieve this fix to the corrupted system, to fix the democracy first.

Donald Trump: My old liberal political views evolved like Reagan's did

TRUMP: Ronald Reagan himself was a Democrat at one point. And I worked with him, and he liked me a lot, and I liked [him] a lot. And he was a terrific guy, but he was a liberal Democrat, and he changed. And I have evolved very strongly in the same way. I'm a conservative and I have tremendous support, but I also have a lot of support among Democrats. You know, when you look at our polls, I have support from all over the place, and people are actually shocked by it: "Mr. Trump, you're leading in every poll."

Bernie Sanders: What's wrong with modeling U.S. on socialist Scandinavia?

SANDERS: Well, so long as we know what democratic socialism is. And if we know that in countries, in Scandinavia, like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, they are very democratic countries, obviously. The voter turnout is a lot higher than it is in the US. In those countries, health care is the right of all people. And in those countries, college education is free. In those countries, retirement benefits, childcare are stronger than in the US.

Q: I can hear the Republican attack ad right now: "He wants American to look more like Scandinavia."

SANDERS: That's right. And what's wrong with that? What's wrong when you have more income and wealth equality? What's wrong when they have a stronger middle class in many ways than we do, higher minimum wage than we do, and they are stronger on the environment? We do a lot in our country, which is good, but we can learn from other countries.

Martin O`Malley: Look at my actions as governor, not my approval rating

O'MALLEY: Well, we had just come off a very contentious campaign there. And I think the truly important thing is my record of accomplishments in Maryland; five years in a row creating the number one public schools in the country, reducing violent crime to 35-year lows. I believe that what people want, especially in 2016, is someone with proven executive experience, the ability to get things done and be honest with people. I think laying out the choices that we have to make as a free people to build a good economy for our kids, is more important than putting my finger in the wind and looking for popularity.

Scott Walker: Even if people disagree, they want politicians who lead

WALKER: You can give speeches all you want, but I think what we have is not only amongst Republican voters, but even with independents, people want people to lead. They don't need to agree with you 100 percent of the time on every issue, but they are so sick and tired of politicians in both parties, particularly in Washington, who say one thing on the campaign trail and do something else. I think those 100,000 protesters four years ago who came in and around our capitol showed, if we think we're doing the right thing for the people, it doesn't matter what the intimidation factor is. We'll stand up and stand up for them.

Mike Huckabee: Chivalry is respect for women, not sexism

HUCKABEE: Well, I just mean that you want to treat everyone with respect. But in the culture of the south, the culture that I grew up with, I think chivalry is still alive. There's a sense of that you pay a great deal of respect and you don't come across as a bully.

Q: So you'd run differently against Joe Biden than against Hillary Clinton?

HUCKABEE: I don't know, it depends on what kind of campaign they were running. It's not an issue of sexism, it's an issue of simply understanding that every opponent, whether it's a male, a female, whether they're from the northeast or from the southwest, everybody has different nuances. In every race you have to assess what are the dynamics of this race.

Mike Huckabee: Cultural bubbles of NY, DC, and LA divide them from us

HUCKABEE: This cultural divide is the disconnect between the three bubbles of New York, D.C. and Hollywood versus the land of God, guns, grits and gravy, that's where the title comes from.