Democracy makes us articulate our views, defend them, and refine them.

One half of the world's people live on less than two dollars a day. This should concern our national security policy as well as our conscience.

A likely source for terrorists seeking to buy or steal nuclear materials is the former Soviet Union.

We should insist that governments receiving American aid live up to standards of accountability and transparency, and we should support countries that embrace market reforms, democracy, and the rule of law.

Aid can work where there is good governance, and usually fails where governments are unable or unwilling to commit aid to improve the lives of their people.

We cannot do everything in Africa, but doing nothing is not an option.

Our democracy is not a product but a continual process. It is preserved not by monuments but deeds. Sometimes it needs refining; sometimes it needs amending; sometimes it needs defending. Always, it needs improving.