In addition to their 'do no evil' motto, Googlers have always been guided by another, much less explicit philosophy: 'computational arrogance.'

Diplomacy is, perhaps, one element of the U.S. government that should not be subject to the demands of 'open government'; whenever it works, it is usually because it is done behind closed doors. But this may be increasingly hard to achieve in the age of Twittering bureaucrats.

Contrary to the utopian rhetoric of social media enthusiasts, the Internet often makes the jump from deliberation to participation even more difficult, thwarting collective action under the heavy pressure of never-ending internal debate.

There is this group of people who love innovation. Those people want to innovate, and they think the Internet is a wonderful tool for innovation, which is true. But you also have to remember that much of that innovation is constrained within the realities of the foreign policy.

In politics, you win and you lose. You come up in power, you go down; it's part of life.

It is never smart, even in a strong democracy, to declare some debate off limits. In a weakening democracy it is catastrophic.

When everyone agrees to a single solution and a single plan, there's nothing more efficient in the world than an efficient democracy.

A free press is the cornerstone of democracy; there is no question about that.