My favorite quote is Thomas Jefferson`s "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time." Well, he was a slave-owner. But these institutions, while they weren't perfect at the time, did allow people to prosper and to continue to struggle and build toward them. That's what you need, is good institutions and I think people will eventually live up to them.

We need a common enemy to unite us.

I certainly have no regrets about overthrowing Saddam Hussein. I'd do it again. And, yes, there are a lot of things that I think we'd all do differently. Maybe we made some erroneous assumptions about the fabric of the society in Iraq and about the solidity of some of the institutions. And yes, there are a lot of things I would do differently. I'd probably work to rebuild Iraq from the outside in, rather than concentrating so much on Baghdad, for instance.

You might not be able to control your circumstances but you can control your response to your circumstances.

I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.

Even when you cherish democratic ideals, it is never easy to turn them into effective democratic institutions. This process will take decades.

I'm happy and content in my life, and I chalk that up to wonderful parents and a wonderful God.