Whatever decisions I make are going to be based first on a strategy to keep us safe and then we'll figure out how to resource it.

The violence engulfing the region today has made too many Israelis ready to abandon the hard work of peace. But let’s be clear: the status quo in the West Bank and Gaza is not sustainable.

I think we need missile defense. But I want to make sure it works, that it's cost effective, that the technologies are operable, that it's our best possible strategy, and that hasn't been shown.

One of the great strengths of the United States is... we have a very large Christian population - we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.

Fear, uncertainty and discomfort are your compasses toward growth. If you run you stand a chance of losing, but if you don't run you've already lost.

We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority.

There is not a black America and a white America; a Latino America, an Asian America. There is the United States of America.