I've said that, that I've felt like as Christians and particularly even as Republicans, we needed to address issues that touched the broader perspective, and that included disease, hunger, poverty, homelessness, the environment.

To put it in perspective, this tornado today or this series of tornadoes will probably rank equal to all of the tornadoes that we had in the entire year last year, ... So that will give you some perspective of just what an incredible disaster this has been for our state.

He needed to address some of the major issues that were festering.

I've had the privilege of working with Bono for the past few years in the One Campaign to fight AIDS and hunger and disease around the world. Bono is an Irishman and a great humanitarian. And I remember him telling me of his admiration for America.

If we faced issues that required little more than a few turns with a Phillips screwdriver, then we perhaps could afford the luxury of political gamesmanship and the personal pleasures of some old-fashioned partisan political towel popping.

Sometimes the only thing between success and defeat is a paycheck.