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At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.

If I were to offer advice to any president of the United States, it would be this: do whatever you can do to keep America the most prosperous and free and powerful nation on earth.

I'd be happy to provide advice if anybody asked me no matter who the President is.

I can give substantive advice to the administration, the president's campaign, or any campaign that would ask for it. And, of course, when I speak I can talk about my views on policy and I have been supportive of the president's policy on leading foreign-policy issues.

It is only requisite, for me to say to you, that the President places great reliance upon your skill, judgment and intimate knowledge.

When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making.

Unless a president can protect the privacy of the advice he gets, he cannot get the advice he needs.

I am considering two things on a daily basis: what is right to do and what is wrong to do in my role as President of my people. According to my conscience, I am trying to abide by the right. My vision is peace. My vision is prosperity.

And I keep saying, whether you like the president or not, everybody has to pull together and help the president because, as the president goes, so goes the country, as the country goes, so goes your job, your ability to feed your family, your government.

The greatest presidents have been those who demonstrated astute judgment in times of crisis - often despite the advice they were getting.