2008

Labor Omnia Vincit (Labor Conquers All Things)
Commencement Address to Admiral Farragut Academy
St. Petersburg, Florida
May 17, 2008
"You need to dream of big things. But dreaming will not suffice. To succeed, you must work. If you are willing to work hard, you will achieve your goals. That is all you need to remember of this graduation speech."

2007

Commencement Address at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
June 2, 2007
"...True success comes to those who best put their talents in context and who connect a substantial intellect to an equally developed emotional capacity. Those of us who lead cerebral lives must constantly strive to elevate our 'people skills' to a level equal to our intellectual skills."

Remarks upon Receiving the Sun & Star Legacy Award from the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas, Texas
April 19, 2007
"Thank you for honoring me with the Sun & Star Legacy Award. I am most grateful to the Japan-America Society for this honor… The one thing that is so engrossing about Japan is that the more you experience it, the less you know about it. Every time I began to think I had it figured out, I’d realize that I was only just beginning to understand it."

Remarks to the Marine Military Academy upon Receipt of the Iwo Jima Leadership Award
Harlingen, Texas
February 16, 2007
" We learned the values of camaraderie and esprit de corps, and that semper fidelis was more than a slogan. Being faithful to your country, your mission and your potential is reward in itself."

2006

Remarks Upon Accepting the Service to Democracy Award and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal
Dallas, Texas
October 18, 2006
"To simply know that you and the American Assembly feel that I and my colleagues in public service have lived a life worth living and are doing good things worth continuing to do is the truest honor of all."

To the Trustees of America's Economic Potential
Spring 2006 Commencement Address
Department of Economics
University of Texas at Austin
May 20, 2006
"Today, China and India, nanotechnology, the Internet and the human genome project, the BlackBerry and the iPod are the railroads of the 21st century that are changing the landscape of history. They are propelling us forward into a world in which whatever was optimal before is no longer so."