You can have all the capabilities; if you don't have the quality people, you don't have much.

This is a complicated time to govern in the world today because of so much going on and it's coming at us at such an unprecedented rate.

I think this is the biggest lesson a president or any of us who has responsibility to govern have to learn: There are always consequences to actions that you take. There are consequences to inaction.

I would not trade America's position in the world - our ledger, our debts and assets - for any country in the world. There isn't a country in the world even close to America.

We can't ... take that piece of reality in this business and set that aside and say, well, that doesn't count. And the Republicans on my side understand that the majority is in fact up for grabs next year. So there's not a decision made up here that doesn't have that factor coursing through that current.

Well, let's go back to the original intent of Social Security. It is an insurance contract.

You can have all the capabilities; if you don't have the quality people, you don't have much.