Biographie

He never drinks alcohol, citing a history of alcoholism in his family. He has sometimes quipped, "I'm the only Irishman you ever met that's never had a drink".

Longtime close friend of John McCain.

Third youngest person ever elected as a U.S. senator in history, several weeks before his 30th birthday. His wife and small daughter were killed in a car crash around the same time.

He is the first president to own a rescue animal as a pet.

Survived a cerebral aneurysm in 1988.

I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. (May 6, 2012)

All politics is local. All politics is personal. In the neighborhood where I come from, where these folks come from, everybody knows they've got to chip in. What they don't like is turning around and finding they are being played for a sucker.

[on Republicans in Congress] These guys wouldn't even let us put back to work 400,000 teachers, firefighters and cops by a 0.5% tax on the first dollar after the first million you made. C'mon, man.

[observation, January 2013] There is nothing that has pricked the consciousness of the American people more than the image people have of little six-year-old kids riddled - not shot, but riddled, riddled - with bullet holes in their classroom.

[on the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, 2014] Since then, domestic violence rates have dropped 64% and we've had fundamental reforms of state laws. And along the way we've changed the cultures. The American people have sent a message: you're a coward for raising a hand to a woman or a child - and you're complicit if you fail to condemn it.