Everyone agrees that our ultimate goal is to establish a free, open and democratic Iraqi government and bring our men and women in uniform home as soon as possible.

What they will try to do is get symbolic victories. Symbolism is important to them. They have little else. But they will strike, I believe, at centers of media, of financial, of American power, of American culture; and that is where we should place our bet.

Rest assured that my support for any eventual reform package will be based firmly upon what is in the best interests of the people of Upstate New York, not any party or president.

And yet 50 percent of the kids who start high school in the United States today do not finish high school.

The world of fashion and fine arts in New York really took me by surprise, and photography has helped me through a period of personal turmoil. I am glad when people like my portfolio, but its aim is - or was - to keep me at peace.

Lord, Bless our enemies; have mercy upon them, may they turn their course and let us alone, and let us live in peace at our homes in our own native land.

Our job as leaders is to find those innovators and release their mojo - lean startup-style - to serve the American people better.

In August 1914, my father was called to war and then taken prisoner. He died in captivity in Germany on March 27, 1915. My youth - indeed, my entire life - was deeply marked by this, directly and indirectly.