Rick Perry has never lost an election; I've never won one. Maybe that's what's wrong with the world. On the other hand, I've long been friends with Bill Clinton and George W., and Rick Perry and I, though at times bitter adversaries, have remained friends as well.

It's not always easy to maintain friendships with politicians. To paraphrase Charles Lamb, you have to work at it like some men toil after virtue.

Yet, simply put, Rick Perry and I are incapable of resisting each other's charm. He is not only a good sport, he is a good, kindhearted man, and he once sat in on drums with ZZ Top. A guy like that can't be all bad.

These days, of course, I would support Charlie Sheen over Obama. Obama has done for the economy what pantyhose did for foreplay.

Most Americans clearly want their government to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws. They understand what many elected officials still don't: rewarding lawbreakers with amnesty only encourages a new flood of illegal immigrants.

In September, New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain New York drivers' licenses. The proposal has been sharply criticized across the nation. A recent poll found 77 percent of Americans oppose drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants.

The public outcry ultimately forced Mr. Spitzer to withdraw his proposal, but the damage was done. With the 2008 elections less than a year away, senior Democratic leaders and members of Congress are desperately trying to strike the right tone on immigration. But efforts by Democrats to toughen talking points against illegal immigration are disingenuous at best.

In fact, Democrats and various interest groups have never been serious about reducing illegal immigration. In the last two years, an overwhelming majority of House Democrats voted against almost every piece of legislation aimed at reducing illegal immigration. For example:

It's been nearly 20 years since Ronald Reagan left the presidency. Yet, even people who don't remember his presidency (or his governorship in California) as I do, have positive views of his legacy.

Yes, he lowered taxes and ended the Cold War. But we remember him for even more than that. He stood unwavering by his principles, his personal integrity was never in question and he had that immutable optimism.

Today, Congress has a record-low approval rating of 11 percent. Republicans lost the majority in part because they spent too much, had ethical lapses and did not deliver on illegal immigration and other issues. The people put Democrats in charge, but they have disappointed even more than Republicans.

Americans are crying out for leadership with principle, integrity and courage. They want to believe again in an optimistic vision for America's future.

Reagan 21 is the project of a group of about 20 senators and representatives to provide that fresh, bold leadership.

Skiers sometimes die, as do mountain climbers and motorcyclists and bicyclists, because what they do routinely is dangerous, risky.  Indeed, there is very little in human life that does not entail some measure of risk, even fatal risk. 

When I moved into Silverado Canyon in Orange Country, California, I did so with full knowledge that the place is exposed to certain serious hazards  -  earthquakes would hit harder because the houses are on steep slopes, fires would spread faster because vegetation is abundant, even mudslides are likely because after a fire the ground is ready to move around quite freely.

Yet I liked the area a lot. The Sierra Madre atmosphere, the funkiness of the neighborhood, the rustic abode in which I would be living meant enough to me to take on the risk of living there.  The region was also near enough to more populated and developed areas so that one wouldn't be out in the boonies like a hermit.

So, I decided that the risk of my home burning down wasn't great enough to override the benefits I would gain from living there. And to this day, even after the fires that may still consume my home, I would insist on this.

But California Senator Diane Feinstein and her cohorts disagree with me, think the risks of living in places such as Silverado Canyon are too great and no one ought to be permitted to assume them.  You might ask, "The risks to whom?"