1. "...if we don't change course soon, we may be the first generation in a very long time that leaves behind a weaker and more fractured America than the one we inherited." (p. 9)
2. "I believe in the free market, competition, and entrepreneurship, and think no small number of government programs don't work as advertised." (p. 10)
3. "I wish the country had fewer lawyers and more engineers." (p. 10)
4. "I carry few illusions about our enemies, and revere the courage and competence of our military." (p. 11)
5. "I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or victimhood generally." (p. 11)
6. "...I would partner up with even my most conservative colleagues to work on a piece of legislation, and over a poker game or a beer we might conclude that we had more in common than we publicly cared to admit." (p. 17)
7, ..."What's troubling is the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics - the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our seeming inability to build a working consensus to tackle any big problem." (p. 22)
8. "...We will need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break." (p. 25)