I Consider Myself A Republican.

Congress Is Best Viewed From A Distance - The Farther The Better - Because Up Close, It Is Truly Ugly.

I've Been Very Sensitive For A Long Time To The Repeated Pattern, During Economic Hard Times Or After A War, Of The United States' Essentially Unilaterally Disarming.

It Has Become Clear That America's Civilian Institutions Of Diplomacy And Development Have Been Chronically Undermanned And Underfunded For Far Too Long - Relative To What We Spend On The Military, And More Important, Relative To The Responsibilities And Challenges Our Nation Has Around The World.

In Government, I'm A Strong Believer In The Need For Reform Of Government Agencies And Departments. They - They Have Gotten Fat And Sloppy, And They're Not User Friendly. They Are Inefficient. They Cost Too Much.

And So The Greatest Of American Triumphs... Became A Peculiarly Joyless Victory. We Had Won The Cold War, But There Would Be No Parades.