responsibility, but in practice, this responsibility for the future is often overwhelmed by the politics of the moment. it falls prey to special interest pressures, to the poll of local concerns and for the reality of every single american. it's a hot easier to spend a dollar than to save one. that's what led to these exploding deficits and that is what will heed to a day of reckoning, but i believe with the help of these gentlemen and this commission we can begin to meet this challenge in a serious and thoughtful way, and i believe we must for the future of our country. so allen, erskine, thank you. we have a serious group in there of democrats and republicans, public sector and private sector, people who are sincere about this effort, and i told them that we are serious about it as well. i think i've shown over the last year that i'm willing to do things even when they're not