Neoconservative Republican President George W. Bush took office determined to aggressively export American democratic values through conflict. The Iraq war, a misdirected response to 9/11, tacked trillions of dollars on to the deficit while further destabilising the Middle East.

To understand the motivations behind Chinese government policy decisions, look no further than their impact on State-Owned Enterprises.

It's not their job from the establishment-through-calcification to sit there and try to withhold the president, to rein him in or slow down his agenda.

I had come from a middle-class family in Port Washington, Long Island, and I was really clueless about Wall Street. My first job there I basically got fired from.

The Internet rewards scale; by trading higher up-front costs for lower marginal cost, market leaders can invest in better technology and service. As a result, there is nothing online that is both great in quality and small in scale. Amazon wasn't originally a better bookstore than the small shops we mourn, but it is now.

Throughout my career, I was never able to relax; I always had to go on the field with another responsibility. I felt like I was playing, not just for my team, but for my race.

In Washington, I am a leader on the issues that matter to my community, and I think that's what my constituents want, and also I think that's what voters want. Someone who understands them, who wants to represent them, and who works tirelessly every day on behalf of their interests and their values.

No Child Left Behind taught us that parents, teachers and state and local leaders are more suited to address students' needs than a one-size-fits-all accountability system developed by Washington bureaucrats.