This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.

Now, being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be president. But it does reveal character. This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders.

There's a lot more to competence than a law degree and a modicum of courtroom skill.

There's nothing hard about acting except the long hours.

Play hardball with Musharraf, but don't cut off US aid.

In the end, we may be hurting the very people we should be concerned about - the inner-city poor, those who already have to live with many risks in their daily lives, those who do not have clout here in Washington.

And when we draw lines in the sand with regard to certain basic things that are vital to our interest and to the interest of democracy and our friends around the world, we have to be willing to back that up