It says something about this new global economy that USA Today now reports every morning on the day's events in Asian markets.

In politics, as in poetry, it is sometimes true that it is darkest before dawn.

In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car.

Now is the time for us to strike. We must strengthen our foothold in Asia, to ensure no nation overtakes us.

But ultimately what I was impressed by during my years in government was how much the intellectual climate and the prevailing intellectual notions constrained and represented the universe within which the discourse took place.

Start with the idea that you can't repeal the laws of economics. Even if they are inconvenient.