Has President Bush exceeded his constitutional authority or acted illegally in authorizing wiretaps without a warrant? Benjamin Franklin would not have thought so.

Things move very slowly in politics. We seem to fight the same wars over and over again.

Franklin Roosevelt was a great leader. He saw how to use the levers of power to affect change.

We didn't think taxes ought to go up. They ought to go down. We didn't think the census ought to be weakened.

Franklin Roosevelt had to govern at a time of crisis. If you're going to make changes in the way a nation thinks, you have to have the ability to take the crisis of the moment and use it to shape an agenda.

Everyone matures. When I was Newt's age, I thought I had the right answer to things. The baby-boomers as political leaders are still on trial by the American people.

I'm in a wonderful position: I'm unknown, I'm underrated, and there's nowhere to go but up.