You know I vowed when I became President not to talk about the loneliest toughest job in the world and I didn't.

The notion of political correctness has ignited controversy across the land. And although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred it replaces old prejudices with new one. It declares certain topics off-limits, certain expressions off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits. What began as a crusade for civility has soured into a cause of conflict and even censorship.

I'm conservative, but I'm not a nut about it.

Abraham Lincoln truly inspired me. It wasn’t just the freeing of the slaves, he kept the Union together. Some people even forget that today. What I think inspired me was the fact that in spite of being the president of the United States he retained a certain down-to-earth quality. He never got to be a big shot, and he cared about people.

I think it's very hard to fight the war on terrorism if we're in retreat.

The glory of being a carrier pilot has certainly worn off.

The fact is prosperity has a purpose. It's to allow us to pursue "the better angels," to give us time to think and grow.