We all learn in school that the judicial legislative and executive branches of government must check and balance each other. But other non state institutions must participate in this important system of checks and balances as well. These checking institutions include the academy the media religious institutions and NGOs.

The Declaration of Independence says when government fails the people have the right to replace it. Well New York State government has failed and the people have the right indeed the people have the the people have the obligation to act.

We campaigned on the fact that we were going to have to take difficult decisions because of the state of the public finances. When we got into government we discovered that actually the public finances were in an even worse state than we thought.

Unfortunately corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises. Our political system promotes nepotism and wasting money. This has undermined our legal system and confidence in the functioning of the state. One of the consequences is that many citizens don't pay their taxes.

If the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government.

Now in New Jersey we have more government workers per square mile than any state in America. But since I've been governor we now have fewer people on the state payroll at any time since Christie Whitman left office in January 2001. That's the right direction Mr. President not the wrong direction.

And I just think that we're at a point in our economic life here in our state - and - and candidly across the country where increased taxes is just the wrong way to go. The people of our state are not convinced that state government county government local government has done all they can with the money we already give them rather than the money that we have before.

We oppose the reactionary policies of the U.S. government but we do not oppose the American people. We want to have many good friends in the United States.

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.

Power must be used but it must be tempered by soul-searching and the recognition of our human capacity for error. That is the maxim that should inform our approach to every challenge from reforming state government to engaging in foreign affairs.