We need to ensure our men and women in uniform are equipped with the very best money can buy. We also have to make sure critical military technologies are developed in America and that the U.S. defense manufacturing base remains healthy and strong.

Community means engaging constructively with like-minded nations to build strong, sustaining institutions and alliances - and bringing emerging powers into this community so future conflict becomes less likely.

I also know that there have been many times in our history when the proximity of an election has induced exactly the kind of leadership and consensus-building that produce progress in our democracy.

We must not condemn to frustration those whose job it is to protect us by failing to provide them with the necessary resources to meet the threats they face.

Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find strength in eloquence, some in judgment, some in courage.

The truth is I'm a very traditional woman, and Rod - despite everything people may think - is a very traditional man. It's true he absolutely loves glamour, and he hasn't got a conventional job, but performing aside, he's happiest at home with his kids around him or lounging in front of the fire watching a war documentary like 'D-Day Remembered.'

Even during the rationing period, during World War II, we didn't have the anxiety that we'd starve, because we grew our own potatoes, you know? And our own hogs, and our own cows and stuff, you know.

Remember Circuit City? Bear Stearns? Lehman Brothers? Sports Authority? Once, all were billion-dollar companies - then gone in a moment. The fatal problem might be fraud or corruption, but more often, it's simply that management didn't see 'over the other side of the hill.'