“The first and most serious duty of the President of the United States, indeed of any patriot, is to advance the great American experiment; to prove that people who are free to act in their own interests will perceive those interests in an enlightened way, and will gratefully accept the obligation of freedom to make of our wealth and power a civilization for the ages. America’s global leadership is indispensable to the accomplishment of a civilization in which all people share in the promise of freedom.”

John McCain, US Senator.  From "Remarks by Senator John McCain at the National Press Club," Washington, D.C., May 20, 1999.