The people and the mindset that killed 3 000 of our fellow citizens on September 11 2001 would have killed not 3 0 but 300 000 if they could have or 3 million or 30 million. We need to do everything we can within our value systems and legal structures to make sure that doesn't happen.

My dream is to reform the legal system over the next 20 years.

Moreover from reforming the tax code to our immigration system to commonsense legal reform President Bush put America on notice that he will continue fighting to make the country and the world a better place for future generations.

Let's create a legal system that can work.

When I started law school I was shocked to learn that our legal system traditionally had the man as the head and master of the family. As late as the '70s and '80s when we were fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment states like Louisiana still had a head and master law.

However we do not lack anti-terrorist laws. I do not believe that the recent London bombs were the result of any deficiencies in our legal system.

The legal principle placing the burden of proof on accusers rather than the accused can be traced back to Second and Third Century Roman jurist Julius Paulus Prudentissimus. Yet this ancient concept which forms the legal and moral cornerstone of the American judicial system is quickly being undermined in the name of 'national security.'

I've led a school whose faculty and students examine and discuss and debate every aspect of our law and legal system. And what I've learned most is that no one has a monopoly on truth or wisdom. I've learned that we make progress by listening to each other across every apparent political or ideological divide.

In this life and death case I felt Mrs. Schiavo should receive the fullest due process from our legal system.

Torture is such a slippery slope as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that almost instantly you get a situation where people are being tortured for very trivial reasons.