In the Pentagon Papers case the government asserted in the Supreme Court that the publication of the material was a threat to national security. It turned out it was not a threat to U.S. security. But even if it had been that doesn't mean that it couldn't be published.

You can't fall back on the private sector and say 'You take care of the nation's banking system.' That's a fundamental function of the government the Federal Reserve the Treasury and the FDIC etc. All of those agencies have a major role to play there.

There is a Western world. There is America. There is Great Britain and Germany and France and Russia and China and other nations. I doubt that there is one country amongst those I mentioned which has a desire to see Iran with its fundamentalist Islamic extremist government possessing nuclear weapons.

I'm not driven to get back into politics. It's not on my top five things to do before I die but saying that I may be in politics in the next year or the next ten years. I've been on the front line for 12 years four in state government eight on the national level.

Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones. Common sense also tells us that a top-down one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy.

National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties.

If you seek Hamilton's monument look around. You are living in it. We honor Jefferson but live in Hamilton's country a mighty industrial nation with a strong central government.

We should have been there shoulder to shoulder with our allies. Our concern is the instability of our government as an ally. We are playing again with national and global security matters.

At a time of such hope and optimism in the Middle East we cannot let the Libyan government violate every principle of international law and human rights with impunity.

I have no doubt that the government of this great nation will work with its people to lead New Orleans and the Gulf Coast back to an enlightened proud safe part of the world.