It says something about our country that people around the world are willing to leave their homes and leave their families and risk everything to come to America. Their talent and hard work and love of freedom have helped make America the leader of the world. And our generation will ensure that America remains a beacon of liberty and the most hope fill society this world has ever known.

Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges. And I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.

I don't care what the polls say. I don't.

We spend less time with each other now than we did during the presidency. When you're president, you're usually out and back in the same day - at least I was. I just came from a trip to the Middle East last week, where I was gone for five nights, and when I left, Laura [Bush] was out of town.

George H. W. Bush is gracious. And I'm not saying any of the former presidents aren't gracious, I'm just saying, this man is gracious.

I don't feel like I've got all that much too important to say on the kind of big national issues.

I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.