The Iraqi elections present a real challenge and also an opportunity to achieve the goal of electing a strong and credible leadership.

Growing up, I was encouraged to get a good education, get a real job doing something I enjoyed, and, should the opportunity present itself, consider public service as just that: a chance to serve, not an end in itself.

In the meantime, these results present a challenge to policy makers.

It was a new opportunity, and they're not an easy bird to get. It's a challenge.

I ... jumped at the opportunity to become a part of the challenge because I knew the opportunity was going to be great.

It represented a physical challenge and provided a rare opportunity to get really fit and trained by the best coaches in the world [on C4 show The Games]