As press secretary, I spent countless hours defending the administration from the podium in the White House briefing room.

As I have heard Bush say, only a wartime president is likely to achieve greatness, in part because the epochal upheavals of war provide the opportunity for transformative change of the kind Bush hoped to achieve. In Iraq, Bush saw his opportunity to create a legacy of greatness.

I think it reflects the reality on the ground, that this was an important milestone that's been achieved by the Iraqi people, and it's a significant development. It's a real hopeful moment for democracy in Iraq.

The permanent campaign is inherently deceptive.

I was raised on the values of speaking up and making a positive difference in a very political family that believed in the importance of public service.

The Iraq war was not necessary.

Well I think that you have to be open and honest in order to learn from your mistakes and be able to correct them in the future to understand what would happen to take things off course. And if we don't address these issues openly and honestly then we don't learn.