In 2007, when I was governor of New York, I proposed that our state once again permit undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver's license. To say the proposal lit a firestorm in the political arena is an understatement.

President Obama is doing the right thing by offering young immigrants, most often in this country through no action of their own, a chance to live and work openly, free from the fear of deportation.

It's time to let science and medicine, not politics and rhetoric, lead us to good, sound policy.

I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas.

The reason to drive this point home with a vivid and frank comparison is many New Yorkers are still not confronting the reality of how serious our crisis is. It was an exhortation to face reality.

To every New Yorker - and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for - I sincerely apologize.

I don't care about motivation. I care about credibility.