Confidence has not improved. As a matter of fact, very often the markets sell off the day that these programs are announced.

We have taken extraordinary action--you at the Fed, the Treasury, the Congress.

It seems to me that an understanding of human psychology on both the individual and the group level is at least as important as quantitative analysis in getting this resolved.

Is that your initial impression as well, that they have not been cooperative in dealing with Taliban?

I've been struck since my service on this Committee by how much we don't know about some of the major challenges to our national security.

So that's next year--possibly as soon as next year.

Has the lower price of oil made them more vulnerable at this moment, so possibly sticks might be have a little bit more impact?

If we wanted to really seriously tackle CO2, we've got to look at things with more scale and scope.

This is essentially a tax increase.

The ratepayer has to pay it. That's my concern, as a regulator. I've got to watch out for the ratepayer.

In my view, this process has too often been consumed by ideological conflict and partisan acrimony.