DAN COATS

Habit is the daily battleground of character

I think the American people deserve to have the issues debated, regardless of which side they're on, so that they are fully aware of what their representatives and senators are voting for and voting against.

I'm not a big fan of Putin. I'm not a big fan of Russia.

We do have a moral responsibility to reach out to our neighbors in need.

As we've learned in 1941, national emergencies can create strange bedfellows.

A major attack on our cyber systems could shut down our critical infrastructure - financial systems, communications systems, electric grids, power plants, water treatment centers, transportation systems and refineries - that allows us to run our economy and protect the safety of Americans.

Character cannot be summoned at the moment of crisis if it has been squandered by years of compromise and rationalization. The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private. Habit is the daily battleground of character.

It's time to acknowledge that more government and higher taxes is not the answer to our problem.

Today, we face another major potential attack on our country. This attack is not a hijacked plane or bomb, although that remains a threat; rather, it is a cyber attack.

We probably haven't seen the variety and diversity of threats to Americans' safety and well-being and our national security in a long, long time. Some have said it almost makes you yearn for the Cold War days when you knew who the bad guys were and who the good guys were, and there was a wall dividing us.

We do have a moral responsibility to reach out to our neighbors in need.

As we've learned in 1941, national emergencies can create strange bedfellows.

I'm at the point age-wise where I've decided it's time to pass the baton to people who have several terms in front of them and have the energy and the excitement and the engagement that is necessary to carry it on.

A major attack on our cyber systems could shut down our critical infrastructure - financial systems, communications systems, electric grids, power plants, water treatment centers, transportation systems and refineries - that allows us to run our economy and protect the safety of Americans.

Russia's assertiveness in global affairs is something I look upon with great concern, which we need to address with eyes wide open and a healthy degree of skepticism.

The Hoosier way is quite simple - we work hard, and we live within our means.

I think the American people deserve to have the issues debated, regardless of which side they're on, so that they are fully aware of what their representatives and senators are voting for and voting against.

Military history shows air action only cannot achieve the goal of defeating an enemy.

Today, we face another major potential attack on our country. This attack is not a hijacked plane or bomb, although that remains a threat; rather, it is a cyber attack.

I'm having a hard time understanding Donald Trump because he says one thing one day then corrects it the next day.

It's time to acknowledge that more government and higher taxes is not the answer to our problem.

Let us learn from the lessons of September 11 and not wait for a major strike before we act. We must work together - Democrats and Republicans, Congress and the White House, government and the private sector - to make our country a safer and more prosperous place.

I'm not a big fan of Putin. I'm not a big fan of Russia.

Russia has a long history of propaganda and trying to influence various nation's cultures and elections. It's happening. They seem to have stepped up their game.

In the midst of the heartbreak and wreckage of 9-11, the world also witnessed what is America's greatest strength. Firefighters, nurses, police officers, first responders and local residents worked around the clock to rescue and care for those injured.

We probably haven't seen the variety and diversity of threats to Americans' safety and well-being and our national security in a long, long time. Some have said it almost makes you yearn for the Cold War days when you knew who the bad guys were and who the good guys were, and there was a wall dividing us.

The eyes of the world are fixed on the U.S. to see if we have the political courage and moral sense to solve our debt crisis.

We can't pick and choose when to adhere to the Constitution and when to cast it aside.

It is not only our duty but our moral obligation to break from the oppression of debt. We must rise above the political considerations and do what is right for the future of our nation.

Everybody has some responsibility. The point is, how are we going to fix it? And you don't fix it simply by blaming the other guy, or blaming the past.

During a time of surplus, a time of peace before 2001, it was much easier to try and find middle ground. We were running surpluses. But during a time when we're careening into bankruptcy and failing miserably on our foreign policy it's just not the same old "find consensus, go along to get along, be pragmatic, come together" place that it was. I think that some very hard decisions and very hard choices have to be made. They won't be popular, but they're necessary.

Character cannot be summoned at the moment of crisis if it has been squandered by years of compromise and rationalization. The only testing ground for the heroic is the mundane. The only preparation for that one profound decision which can change a life, or even a nation, is those hundreds of half-conscious, self defining, seemingly insignificant decisions made in private. Habit is the daily battleground of character.

Every president inherits difficult problems. George W. Bush inherited eight years of a failed foreign policy and did nothing about the growing threat of Islamic terrorism, except a one-time lob of a cruise missile into the desert at a camp that had long been abandoned. George Bush inherited that, and 9-11 was the result of that. Every president inherits problems. Harry Truman inherited a war. Stop blaming the person before you and go forward and take leadership and deal with the problem.

Habit is the daily battleground of character