The deficit - the U.S. knows our deficit is too large. We are committed to bringing it down. We are bringing it down. The deficit came in for fiscal year '05 at considerably below where it was the prior year.

We have the most flexible and adaptive economy. Making sure we sustain the ability of the American economy to perform well is really the priority of economic policy.

We have a serious structural deficit problem. And it needs to be addressed. The president is trying to address it through reforms of Social Security, but the problem is there with other entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Well, I think the best thing we can do for the short term is move good energy legislation through to the Congress; I'm encouraged that there's some prospect for that now.

And one of our points of continuing conversation with our trading partners is the urgency of their taking steps to remove barriers to their improved growth performance.

We have the deepest and most liquid capital markets in the world.

We can get more energy out of the north slope of Alaska; we have available the ability to make ourselves less dependent on those uncertain sources of supply from the Middle East. And it's important we do that.

The global economy is in pretty good shape.

I think we'll build a consensus for action on Social Security reform which will reduce that long-term unfunded obligation and put the system on a sustainable basis.

Well, there's no doubt about the fact that, that higher energy prices lead to greater conservation, greater energy efficiency, and they also, of course, play a useful role on the supply side.

We must start with the reality that corporations cannot guarantee anyone a lifetime job any more than corporations have a guarantee of immortality.

And I think the American people look to the leaders to lead. They look to the leaders to take on the big problems. And the president deserves a lot of credit for doing that.

The deficit - the U.S. knows our deficit is too large. We are committed to bringing it down. We are bringing it down. The deficit came in for fiscal year '05 at considerably below where it was the prior year.

Well, I think the global economy is in the position for continuing good growth with inflation well in check.

We have to keep our eye on inflation, but so far inflation remains reasonably in check on the global stage.

Moderation of oil prices would be very, very welcome. But overall I think we are in a position of stable growth, sustainable growth, and basically with inflation in check.

We promote domestic savings by also things like the personal accounts associated with the president's Social Security initiative, which over time would generate more savings.

But clearly an economy that's growing and expanding like this one - and it certainly is doing that with high GDP output, employment numbers strong, capacity utilization strong - that's an environment in which the Fed needs to continually be alert to early signs of inflation.

Well, the U.S. is running a current account deficit; we are creating lots of investment opportunities in the United States that exceed our own domestic savings rates, so the issue here is to encourage higher savings rates in the United States.

Everybody you talk to about insurance says the insurance market has become a lot more vibrant as a result of lifting, allowing the foreign direct investment.

And our big theme has been, you have made so much progress, we urge you on with the openings and market openings that have occurred. They clearly work and continuing on that path will produce further growth and further opportunities for the Indian people.

We're focused on doing the things that make the economy perform well, and as you do that, reduce deficits, for one, very important; secondly, keep growth rates high, very important.

Our view is that economic isolationism is the wrong way to go. Vibrant, successful growing economies that advance the interests of their citizens engage the global economy. And, we're committed to engaging the global economy.

Well, I make a practice of not commenting on the role of the relative exchange value of our currency.

Telecom is a dramatic success in India and our view is, respecting the political process, and respecting the fact that these are sovereign decisions, is that, approaching India as a friend.

Social Security represents an $11 trillion unfunded obligation. And when I say unfunded obligation, I mean we have to come up with $11 trillion at some point to make the system whole.

You don't fix the problem until you define it.

And we have abundant natural energy resources in the country. We haven't been taking adequate advantage of them, and we can burn coal in a clean way; we could improve the grid.

The only difference between success and failure is Lack of Vision.

Decency requires that when a programme is approved by the majority all should carry it out faithfully.

I understand it's my role to realize people's dreams.

I've been a story-teller all my life but I realized it only recently.

Rich people in one country don't act the same as rich people in another country.

No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it.

The U.S. federal government may be going broke, but it's not because of NASA.

In cloning, in contrast, reproduction is asexual - the cloned child is the product not of two but of one.

If somebody has an extreme amount of wealth and is not using it for some good purpose, only for their own enjoyment or satisfaction, then clearly there's a moral failing in the world in which we live.

Older men get lovable, and older women get monstrous.

My mother was against me being an actress - until I introduced her to Frank Sinatra.

Deadlines refine the mind. They remove variables like exotic materials and processes that take too long. The closer the deadline, the more likely you'll start thinking waaay outside the box.

Unless we get serious about addressing Iran's regional ambitions in places like Syria, then our allies are never going to be confident that we have a strategy for the region.

Theres no way we could take cars off the planet and not have our society fall apart. So theyre a necessary evil in that sense.

In Elizabethan England or classical Athens... theater was at the center of, not culture, but society and politics and religion and civic engagement. Those things have a different audience.

I think on civilian casualties they could do more. It's actually something I've discussed with the editors involved. They're aware of it, and I'm hopeful that there will be more reporting on that.

It took me a long time to stumble upon a sound, and I figured out I wanted to kinda sing rapper's lyrics.

I find television very educational. Every time someone turns it on I go in the other room and read a book.

The trouble with calling a book a novel, well, it's not like I'm writing the same book all the time, but there is a continuity of my interests, so when I start writing a book, if I call it 'a novel,' it separates it from other books.

The whole point of Superman, as originally created, was to be the ally of those who had no other allies. It put that magnitude of power, the most powerful guy in the world, in the service of those who had no hope, no chance.

What makes the United Nations an appropriate source of legitimacy for intervention is that it is the only place where the claims of the strong are put through the test of justification in front of the weak.