"Your question was deployment. It must be in the national interests. It must be in our vital interest whether we every send troops. The mission must be clear. Soldiers must understand why are we going. The force must be strong enough so that the mission can be accomplished. And the exit strategy needs to be well-defined.

I'm concerned that we're over-deployed around the world. See, I think the mission has somewhat become fuzzy. Should I be fortunate enough to earn you confidence, the mission of the United States military will be to be prepared and ready to fight and win war, and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place."

Spending money is one thing. But spending money without a strategic plan can oftentimes be wasted.

You see, I don't think the surplus is the government's money, I think it's the people's money. I don't think the surplus exists because of the ingenuity and hard work of the federal government. I think it exists because of the ingenuity and hard work of the American people, and you ought to have some of this surplus so you can save and dream and build.