If the critics are right that I've made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation - not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago.

Immigrants aren't the reason wages haven't gone up enough; those decisions are made in the boardrooms that too often put quarterly earnings over long-term returns.

It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.

Contrary to the claims of some of my critics and some of the editorial pages, I am an ardent believer in the free market.