We must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.

The American people can be - and deserve to be - assured that actions taken in their defense are consistent with their values and their laws.

It pains me whenever there's the death of a law enforcement official.

Saturdays and Sundays, America in the year 2009 does not in some ways differ significantly from the country that existed almost 50 years ago. This is truly sad.

I'll leave here with my head held high and with confidence that history will judge my time here.

It's a sad indication of where Washington has come, where policy differences almost necessarily become questions of integrity. I came to Washington in the late '70s, and people had the ability in the past to have intense policy differences but didn't feel the need to question the other person's character.

No individual or company, no matter how large or how profitable, is above the law.