I don't give up on commitments until what I've been asked to do is clearly finished.

A merger is hard to pull off under any circumstances. It's harder when everybody is against you.

A leader's most important decisions are about people. Who do you put in which jobs? How long do you leave them in a job?

To wage war, we need a commander in chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be held accountable over and over, not first-term senators who've never made an executive decision in their life.

Nobody needs to worry about my toughness.

I believe that marriage has a spiritual foundation because only a man and a woman can create life, which is a gift from God. So, while I believe that government should bestow benefits equally, I also believe that government must respect those - like myself - who believe that marriage has a religious foundation.

I was wrong about [Jack] Keane. He is the exception that proves the rule. I was certainly right about the fact that he is a member of the warrior class.