America is a country ready to be taken, in fact, longing to be taken by political leaders ready to restore democracy and trust to the political process. ↗
I will never work merely to make a reputation for myself, to be popular for appearances rather than for what I am. My task is to lead my country through service. ↗
I am proud of the President's leadership. I am proud to support him in saying: Yes, we are going to do what is necessary now when it is less painful and less expensive. ↗
The important thing is that we recognize our President's leadership, that he is not saying: I am going to walk away from this. He is saying: I am going to do the right thing. ↗
Our aim, during our Presidency in the next six months will be to lead this challenge, to show that Europe can function in a mature and responsible way, to start delivering tangible results that show we are taking people's concerns seriously. ↗