I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation in order to run for the office of president.

And the trajectory that our debt is taking now beyond $14 trillion is going to have an impact on our currency. It goes south, and our currency's going to have an impact on our standard of living and affect every family in this country, and over time, our international competitiveness.

The real secret about diplomats is that we're trained to say something, when there is nothing to say, and to say nothing when there is something to say.

I think we have to be very sensitive to our need to compete, moving forward, and a lot of that is tied to tax policy.

I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation in order to run for the office of president.

It's a tribal state, and it always will be. Whether we like it or not, whenever we withdraw from Afghanistan, whether it's now or years from now, we'll have an incendiary situation. Should we stay and play traffic cop? I don't think that serves our strategic interests.

I was criticized at some level within the Republican Party by those who say government should not be in the economic development business at all. My response is that the only country I know that doesn't have an economic development plan is Papa New Guinea.