I think that for the next short period of time, our No. 1 priority is Congress needs to do its work and extend the payroll tax cut.

Every president since George Washington has taken executive privilege seriously. Every Republican president has.

The most critical thing in a negotiation is to get inside your opponent's head and figure out what he really wants.

From the very beginning the president [of USA] had two very important principles that had to be reconciled. One principle is that every woman should have the right to all forms of preventive health care, including contraception. The other is that we need to respect the religious liberties which are the cornerstone of American life.

The challenge for any government is how do you do two things at the same time. How do you put money forward for things like the payroll tax holiday, for things like getting a jump-start on infrastructure, for building schools, and make the decisions for long-term deficit reduction.

Europe is trying to get its fiscal house in order.

Raising the debt limit on some levels is a ministerial act. It doesn't involve any new spending.