If we had prescribed in Congress each of the relationships between the agencies, I think that would have been an enormous mistake and would have rendered this person more useless. This person can exercise power, and I think that's good.

Once again, it appears to me that the White House has dictated that the Republican-controlled Congress not conduct oversight of an important national security matter, ... They have made it clear that anyone who suggests that oversight is needed should be labeled as unpatriotic.

Obviously they're getting a lot of flak from Congress and the Europeans as well. It was going to happen at some point anyway. It probably happened sooner than it would have if Congress and the administration hadn't said anything,

If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.

I am saddened to learn of Bob's passing. Bob was an outstanding journalist and an acute political observer.

Pat Roberts and I both feel very strongly that when we get to Iran, that we can't make the same mistakes. We have to ask the questions, the hard questions before, not afterwards, and get the right intelligence.