For ASEAN to be effective, to be the dominant institution of Asia... it has to have a greater leveling effect.

if we are not consistent in how we deal with these incidents, such as locking up dissidents and these sorts of things, in a country like China, then the rest of the region does not believe we're serious about what our policies really are.

The nongovernmental impact of the United States is enormous in Asia.

I fundamentally, violently agree with your logic here.

It's an across-the-board concern that we have.

One of the precepts in ASEAN is that, if you are a member, then you are treated equally inside ASEAN, as a member.

the best way for the United States to be understood inside these isolated countries is to do what we can, according to the precepts which we believe as a nation, to open up those societies and let them see the outside world.

I think it is incumbent on the United States to raise those issues at the highest levels.

I totally agree with you. We tend to forget, in this country, the amazing story of Japan since the end of World War II.

Burma is not Vietnam. Vietnam is not Burma.

I have seen some positive movement, in terms of how they are dealing with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Asia is really moving toward multilateral relationships. And it's positive.

What a better use of our funds.

This year, 24 Republicans joined us in fiscal responsibility.

Although we did not create the deficit, we have a moral responsibility to address long-term deficits.

Many on the other side of the aisle recently have taken the position that deficits are a bad thing, while simultaneously ignoring the significant contributions of their own actions to increase the national debt.

The unspent and repaid TARP funds represent the single largest opportunity for deficit reduction in our nation's history.

It is important to note that we did not invent the concept of a budget deficit.