George H.W. Bush: “We confront mysteries here.”

Strength is not empty rhetoric. It's not bluster. And in my experience, the strongest person usually isn't the loudest one in the room.

American officials must heed the lessons of the short-lived coup in 2002, when Bush Administration support for Chavez's ouster undermined America's standing in the region and damaged our credibility as a defender of democracy.

One of our major problems is, we do not have enough immigrants. We are going to have to do something about our immigration policy.

More than 220 years later, Washington's warning feels strikingly relevant.