Terry McAuliffe in What A Party, by Terry McAuliffe

On Civil Rights: When women vote, Democrats win

Contrast that with the Bush administration approach, which was to make a few symbolic gestures to try to slow Bush's slide among women voters.

On Corporations: Started McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance at age 14

I hurried home and typed up a letter announcing my new McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance business to all of our neighbors. The next morning I handed those out all over the neighborhood, and by the end of the first day I had 6 jobs.

"McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance," my mother would say every time she answered our phone, like she was in an office.

I took some of the money I made with McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance and invested in a snowblower and started my winter business. I would get up at 4:00 in the morning during the darkest coldest days of winter and blow snow off driveways and sidewalks.

On Environment: TV ad: "May I please have more arsenic in my water, mommy?"

One ad would show a cute little blond girl holding up a glass and asking "May I please have some more arsenic in my water, Mommy?"

We did another ad at the same time hitting the Bush administration for moving to stop testing salmonella in ground beef used in the federal school-lunch program, a test that the Clinton administration had instituted. That ad showed a little boy holding up a plate with a hamburger on it.

"More salmonella in my cheeseburger, please," the kid says.

The ads worked because people already knew for themselves that Bush had little interest in protecting people from toxic chemicals. The voiceover of the ads confirmed what people suspected: "Bush tried to roll back protections against arsenic in drinking water and salmonella in school lunches."

On Foreign Policy: 1995: Visited Belfast early in IRA cease-fire

Clinton's vision had paid off in spades. The cease-fire was 15 months old at that point, and all over town everyone was talking about how it was the 1st Christmas in memory that people in Belfast felt comfortable going downtown to shop.

I tell everybody that trip was one of the greatest moments I've ever had in politics. Everywhere we went huge crowds turned out and broke into ecstatic cheers of "We want Bill! We want Bill!" You had millions of people on the streets cheering President Clinton and cheering America, and it was spectacular.

On Foreign Policy: 2000: Vetted to be Ambassador to England

[My wife and I] thought it would be a great experience for the kids. And only one other Irish-American, Joe Kennedy, had ever served as ambassador to the Court of St. James, so it would have been a big deal in Ireland, too. I was excited by the chance to bring the two countries closer together. The next day half a dozen FBI agents showed up at my door to start the vetting process and within 3 weeks the whole thing had been done and I was cleared in record time.

Unfortunately for me, [Al Gore then asked], "Will you go out to LA and chair the convention?" As much as I wanted to go to England, I didn't hesitate. I was going to do what the VP wanted, no questions asked.

On Government Reform: I favor a ban on soft money

No one was sure if campaign finance would really pass, but I'd said all along that I favored a ban on soft money. I had a reputation as the king of soft money because of some of the high-profile large-donor fund-raising I'd done during the Clinton years, but over the course of my more than 20 years raising money, more than 90% was small, individual checks.

On Gun Control: 1983: On first hunting trip, show a turkey buzzard

Understand, coming from Syracuse, the only turkeys I'd ever seen were the kind you unfold like an accordion and put down in the middle of your Thanksgiving dinner table. I'd never even held a gun, much less gone hunting. So, that 1st morning, we were out of bed before 5 AM, and the 1st thing I knew, they'd thrown a shotgun in my hands. I liked the feel of that shotgun in my hands, but I had one small problem How was I going to load the thing? I had no idea.

Before long there were birds flying all around me. I pointed my shotgun and pulled the trigger and BLAM!! The black bird with the big red head didn't have a chance.

I got me a turkey! I got me a turkey! I started yelling.

But something was up. The laughter was going on too long.

Finally someone told me the truth: I'd shot a turkey BUZZARD, which is a vulture, not a turkey.

I was hooked on hunting after my 1st weekend.

On Gun Control: Brady Bill was the right thing to do

On Health Care: 37 million uninsured is not fair

"Do you want socialized medicine?" the anesthesiologist asked me, his voice rising.

"Of course not," I said. "However, there are 37 million uninsured people in this country with no access to health care. Is that fair?"

On Homeland Security: Soldiers at Walter Reed are upbeat despite injuries

On Immigration: Register voters in Spanish at citizen naturalization events

"You're going to have to shut this down," a young police officer told me. "You're creating a scene and disturbing the peace."

I called his bluff: "Officer, make my day," I said. "Please, put handcuffs on me. I want you to arrest the chairman of the Democratic Party for being out here registering new voters."

"Okay, maybe not," he said. "Just try to keep your kids quiet." Then he and his partner drove away; the two blue hairs sat there glaring at me.

On Principles & Values: My values: patriotism, family, religion, Democratic Party

I talked to my dad every day on the phone right up until he passed away in front of the TV on New Year's Eve 2000, watching [his favorite quarterback on] the Philadelphia Eagles.

The old man was my best friend and to this day his values are my values: patriotism, family, religion, and the Democratic Party. My father made sure I understood from an early age that what mattered most in life was getting out there and making a difference, working through the Democratic Party to make people's lives better and always standing up for your convictions.

On Principles & Values: We let GOP steal Florida from us in 2004

The bigger scandal was that even in the aftermath of Election Day, with the outcome hanging in the balance, we did not fight hard enough. We should have had our scrappiest, most determined people down there working to protect the integrity of the process. Instead, we let the Republicans outwork us and out-organize us. We should have called immediately for a recount of the whole state, since that would have been fair to everyone and easy to explain. Instead, we let them steal it from us. To me that episode was the defining moment for our party in the last 25 years.

On Principles & Values: Met future wife at age 16 at Jimmy Carter fundraiser

Iris Swann and I hit it off immediately, even though Richard had forgotten to tell his wife that I'd be showing up with my suitcase and staying with the family for 3 weeks. I met the dog and all 4 of their kids, including their oldest, Dorothy, who at the time had just turned 16. After that I became almost part of the family.

"Richard, I have figured out who Dorothy is going to marry," Doris said. "Who do you think it is?"

"Okay, who?" Richard said halfheartedly. "The kid down the street? The school quarterback?

Doris cut him off. "No, stupid," she said. "Terry!"

"Terry? Good Lord, he's old enough to be her father."

"Don't be silly," she said. "He's 22 and she's 16. By the time she's old enough to get married, it will be an ideal age difference."

On Principles & Values: Hospitalized while running 1984 NYC marathon

With the temperature reaching 79 degrees, I knew I should back off my usual pace, but I hate trying to slow down. I was so overheated, my body temperature had climbed to 106 degrees. I looked like hell. "Get him out of the race!" people shouted.

I heard, but the words were distant and incomprehensible and felt like they had nothing to do with me. I started weaving sideways back and forth. I had totally lost my mind. The last thing I remember is coming down a hill and crossing a bridge into Harlem. Just after the bridge you had to make a sharp turn, but I kept going straight and ran right into the crowd. That was the best thing I did all day, because everyone could see I had fried my brain. They rushed me by ambulance to Harlem Hospital with IV's stuck into me and plunged me into a giant tub of ice water.

On Principles & Values: 1994 Lincoln Bedroom Memo scandal: donations for access

"What memo could possibly be controversial enough to make news?" I asked Cheryl. She read the memo aloud and I recognized it right away as the one I had written just after my breakfast with the President in late December 1994, when he was dejected after the midterm loss. "Okay, I'm fine with that," I said. "So what?"

"Well, unfortunately for you, Terry, the President turned the memo over and wrote a note to Nancy Hernreich on the back saying, "Ready to start overnights right away,'" she said. Thus the famous Lincoln Bedroom Memo.

"Okay, but it doesn't have anything to do with me," I said. "He didn't write that note to me. I didn't even get a copy of the memo back." I have never written the words 'Lincoln Bedroom' in my life.

On Principles & Values: 2000: Biggest fundraiser of all time: $26.3M in one night

On War & Peace: Acted as back channel between Yasir Arafat and Bill Clinton

Arafat was under pressure from other Arab leaders not to accept a deal just for the sake of a deal, but to fight hard for the best deal possible. Through Clinton's efforts [the Israelis and Palestinians] were also able to resolve most of the territorial and neighborhood issues as well as questions relating to holy sites.

On War & Peace: Iraq War case built by scaring the daylights out of people

The same month that Cheney and Rice hit the talk-show circuit to scare the daylights out of the American people, I happened to be over in Spain attending the wedding of Prime Minister Jose Aznar's daughter, Ana. We were joined by Blair and his charming, outspoken wife, Cherie.

Cherie Blair had a question for me. "Terry, what do people in America think of my husband on this issue?," she asked coyly.

I decided what the heck, I'd tell them the truth.

"With all due respect, Mr. Prime Minister, most people think you're a lapdog for George Bush," I said "No offense, sir."

At that point Cherie slapped her husband on the shoulder and said, "See, I told you so, Tony."

On War & Peace: 2003: Where are WMDs? Still asking today!

The questions, I had on June 17, 2003, speaking in Oklahoma, were: "Where are the weapons of mass destruction?" and "Where is Osama bin Laden?" I'm still asking those questions today--along with millions of other outraged Americans.

The following month, we started getting a clearer picture of just how far Bush had gone to distort reality in his push for war.