India is known for its sobriety and wisdom balanced and sensible thinking. We need strong institutions and we need good governance in the country.

The rule for effective governance is simple. It is one Ronald Reagan knew by heart. And one that he successfully employed with Social Security and the Cold War. When there is a problem you fix it. That is the job you have been sent to do and you cannot wait for someone else to do it for you.

America's downgrade may serve as a wakeup call for its policymakers. It is an unambiguous and loud signal of the country's eroding economic strength and global standing. It renders urgent the need to regain the initiative through better economic policymaking and more coherent governance.

The fact that we're going through a crisis is an opportunity for Europe to be more coordinated and more integrated. We're actually talking about a European Monetary Fund or euro bonds about guarantees for countries about economic governance in the European Union. That shows the strength of Europe.

It is time for the world the hemisphere and the region to make sure that relevant institutions of civil society and relevant laws are embedded in the mechanisms of governance.

Certainly protecting oppressed people stopping ethnic conflict and promoting responsible governance are worthy goals. But none is as important for American security and prosperity as keeping the peace in the Middle East Europe and East Asia.

Corporate governance is a huge issue too. We don't have women on these corporate boards. More than half of the students in law school are women more than half of the women I think in medical school now are women.

America somehow thinks that leadership relates to governance and it certainly does. But society is much bigger than governance and some of the truly great leadership of our society is outside the governance arena.

One of the enduring problems with certain societies in the world - and this is certainly true of a lot of places in the Middle East - is that the capacity for self-governance and self-organizing just isn't there. It has to do with history.

Inspiring scenes of people taking the future of their countries into their own hands will ignite greater demands for good governance and political reform elsewhere in the world including in Asia and in Africa.