I was born in Houston on February 2, 1952, and was raised in San Antonio. My parents, John and Gale, were both native Texans. My dad was a B-17 pilot in World War II and served for 31 years in the U.S. Air Force.

I graduated from Trinity University and St. Mary’s School of Law, both in San Antonio. I also earned a Masters of Law from the University of Virginia Law School in 1995.

I first considered running for elected office in 1984 at the age of thirty–two when a group of local Republicans at a Super Bowl party asked me to run for an open state district judge seat in Bexar County. I must have looked the part – though I was only 31, I already had white hair.

I was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and previously served in Texas as a district judge, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and as Texas Attorney General.

My wife Sandy and I have been married since 1979, and we have two daughters.

Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that are not so.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” James Madison, THE FEDERALIST NO. 51

My job requires a lot of reading to stay up with current events, and travel back and forth to Texas and Washington. Fortunately, I can do a lot of the former while also doing the latter. My iPad helps (see below).

I am an unabashed gadget nut: in addition to my computers and my blackberry (my brain), I love my iPad. Think how many trees I save; no paper!

For rest and relaxation, I enjoy my near daily work out, and bird hunting in Texas and elsewhere with friends. But I don't seem to have enough time to do as much as I would prefer.

In the U.S. Senate, I currently serve on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services, and Budget Committees. I am committed to bolstering our national defense, repairing our broken immigration system and securing our borders. I continue to work to boost access to more affordable health care, improve educational opportunities for all Texans, strengthen the economy and expand job opportunities, keep taxes low, and reduce spending. I'm a strong advocate for Texas military personnel, veterans and their families, and I believe we must ensure that we provide them with the best possible support, care and benefits.

One of my top priorities throughout my public service has been boosting transparency and accountability in government.

I am a great fan of almost everything Tom Wolfe has written. Bonfire of the Vanities is great. Most of the time I read nonfiction, though. For example, I recently read The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash. It is one of the most concise and clearest explanations I've read for our current economic crisis. The NY Times listed it as one of the top 100 books of 2008.

My preference runs strongly to Country and Western. I remember a guy in Midland saying that in West Texas they like BOTH kinds of music: Country AND Western. Funny. Fact is I like just about all kinds of music and I enjoy my IPOD a lot. The podcasts also help me keep up with what is going on is the world.

Jerry Maguire

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