Health care reform the marquee legislative accomplishment of the Obama administration's first term was passed before we entered the world of divided government.
Power must be used but it must be tempered by soul-searching and the recognition of our human capacity for error. That is the maxim that should inform our approach to every challenge from reforming state government to engaging in foreign affairs.
Our government declared that it is conducting some kind of great reforms. In reality no real reforms were begun and no one at any point has declared a coherent programme.
Concerns about the size and role of government are what seem to leave reformers stammering and speechless in town-hall meetings. The right wants to have a debate over fundamental principles elected Democrats seem incapable of giving it to them.
Conventional wisdom on government's role in inequality often has it backwards. Tax reforms have resulted in a more progressive federal income tax government transfer payments have become less progressive.
Political tyranny is nothing compared to the social tyranny and a reformer who defies society is a more courageous man than a politician who defies Government.
To restore the trust of the people we must reform the way the government operates.
By making bold cuts in spending and commonsense entitlement reforms we will make our government simpler smaller and smarter.
But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible and the Bible only as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms.
Inspiring scenes of people taking the future of their countries into their own hands will ignite greater demands for good governance and political reform elsewhere in the world including in Asia and in Africa.
While Democrats fussed with the details of health care reforms conservatives spent months telling the nation that the real issue is freedom that what's on the line is American liberty itself.
It starts with campaign finance reform.
Nobody wants campaign finance reform more than me. It would save me a fortune.
Well paycheck protection is an important ingredient for a successful campaign finance reform measure.
Well first let me say that I think health care reform is important. It has to be a priority. And our system is broken. The Finance Committee bill is the best effort yet due in large measure to the efforts of my colleague Olympia Snowe but it's not there yet. It falls short.
I certainly want campaign finance reform. I just wish this would do it in a way that would stand up to a constitutional challenge.
We need real campaign finance reform to loosen the grip of special interests on politics.