Spreading manure is a great way of bringing yourself down to earth.
My dad wasn't the best speaker like a Bill Clinton, or a Henry Kissinger, but he had character.
I thought food and drink were just part of the perks of living at the White House. The next day, I got a call from his secretary saying my dad wanted to see me in the Oval Office, and when I got there, dad was waving this little pink receipt. I didn't know it came out of his salary.
I remember telling Mom, 'I can't go to the Betty Ford Center. That's like going to the high school where your mom is the principal.' But maybe I could have gotten the family rate.
As I get older and more tuned in to a community or an area, I see myself getting more involved. Not that I see myself running for office, but more involved in local issues.
I think the issue that is really going to hurt the Republican Party is the right-to-life issue. I think they have painted themselves into a real corner.
Our dad was just a congressman for 27 years, and if you live in Washington, D.C., everybody's dad works for the government. We grew up just like everyone else.
Dad had great people investing in his life at a young age. His mother, his stepfather, his Boy Scout leader, his football coach. That's where integrity is planted, like seeds that are harvested later.
Dad lived his life in a way that it was his character, not his circumstances, that dictated what his life looked like.