Obama really does recognize the threats that are out there; I think he understands the world. He understands the role of America in that troubled world.

You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on.

These days, it takes only seconds - seconds - for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline.

An aggressor nation or extremist group could gain control of critical switches and derail passenger trains, or trains loaded with lethal chemicals.

We are a nation at war. This is also a time for hard choices. It's about ensuring that we are able to prevail in the conflicts in which we are now engaged. But it's also about being able to be strong and disciplined in applying our nation's limited resources to defending America.

I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think there's any question that America is safer as a result of the bin Laden operation.