Democracy makes us articulate our views, defend them, and refine them.

Our democracy is not a product but a continual process. It is preserved not by monuments but deeds. Sometimes it needs refining; sometimes it needs amending; sometimes it needs defending. Always, it needs improving.

But despite this breathtaking pace, I believe in the capacity of our democracy to meet these challenges.

Addressing global resentment cannot be put off. If we do not learn to use our predominant power with great restraint, we will antagonize the world.

So much of our attention is trained on the Middle East these days, but we cannot ignore East Asia.

He not only was articulate in his views, but justified his views without making financial markets balk. He was impressive, maybe not as impressive as Greenspan, but Greenspan had 18 years to practice.