It's important that the American people understand that President has proposed and passed this stimulus plan not as the end-all and be-all to our economic woes but as our bridge over troubled water until we get the finance system, the banking system working again.

This is a huge problem. If we don't deal with this within just a few years, you will have island nations flooded; you will have the agricultural balance of most countries completely changed; you will have a dramatic increase in the number of severe, unmanageable weather events... And the good news is that we can now deal with this problem - and strengthen our economic growth, not weaken it.

We have no intention of abandoning the American people to unproven theories and extreme positions. We're the people party and we're going to stick up for the people.

On Bill Clinton: I have a simple question: Who's the last President to give you a balanced budget?

Democracies don't go to war against each other, and by and large they don't sponsor terrorism. They're more likely to respect the environment and human rights and social justice. It's no accident that most of the terrorists come from non-democratic countries.

Won't it be sad to have an Internet connection to Mars if there are no Martians to write to or e-mail us?

Let me be clear: we are still a nation of immigrants, and we honor all those immigrants who are working hard to become new citizens.