[John] McCain references favorite presidents like Teddy Roosevelt. Hillary cited Eleanor Roosevelt.

Learning is a good thing, but unless it's tempered by faith and a love of freedom, it can be very dangerous indeed.

President Bush, yes, spent money like a drunken sailor, and left the nation with a record $400-billion deficit. President Obama, however, is spending far more money than Bush, with a record $1.8 trillion deficit projected for his first year.

It is quite sad, to me, that that ideal, that vision and understanding [of American founding ], doesn't seem to be a part of the current political season.

Colleges need learning, faith, and freedom. Each reinforces the others, each makes the others possible. For what are they without each other?

Which founders have these presidents cited - and why? What did, say, President [Ronald] Reagan's view of George Washington, or President [Bill] Clinton's view of Thomas Jefferson, tell us about their view of America and where they intended to lead the country?In many cases, it told us a lot about the president.

Issues are important, yes, but issues come and go. America as an ideal is timeless.