Given my last position, that I was the first U.S attorney post 9/11 in New Jersey, I understand acutely the pain and sorrow and upset of the family members who lost loved ones that day at the hands of radical Muslim extremists. And their sensitivities and concerns have to be taken into account.

No wonder nobody around the world is nervous about America anymore. No wonder we're not intimidating our adversaries and they're running around wild in the world, because they know we're not investing in our defense anymore. We need to make or military strong, not to wage war, but to avoid war and to bring peace and stability in the world.

This president [Barack Obama] has had weak leadership, which has led to bad choices. We have got to stop worrying about being loved and start worrying about being respected. And that's exactly how I'll lead our country.

Insisting that we must tax and take and demonize those who have already achieved the American Dream. That may turn out to be a good re-election strategy for President Obama, but is a demoralizing message for America.

Since the president's [Barack Obama] lost all of that [majority in Senate], he now has decided he's just going to write laws on his own. He's going to give us edicts, as if he's a king. And that is a petulant child. He's refusing to listen to the will of the American people, which is they reject his policies.

Sometimes people need to be told to sit down and shut up.

Higher taxes is the road to ruin. We must and we will shrink our government, and that means making some tough choices, tightening our belts.