John Bolton in The Iowa Freedom Summit & Ag Summit (preparation for Iowa Caucus)

On Foreign Policy: America is a benign force globally

1. Voters should reject any candidate who treats national security policy in a dismissive or off-hand way. It is not enough to 'check the box' by mentioning foreign policy every once in a while.
2. Candidates should be proudly patriotic. They should assert that a strong American international presence is positive and necessary for us and our allies, and say clearly that America is a benign force globally, providing order and stability, providing the foundations for the interlocking, global economy and our way of life here at home.
3. Candidates must demonstrate they understand how closely interwoven domestic and foreign policy are. A strong economy depends on that strong international presence. These are not alternative priorities, but are inextricably connected.

On Homeland Security: America is less secure now than we were six years ago

Americans expect that the president will alert them when there are threats and lay out a program to deal with those threats, but Barack Obama does not consider American national security a priority. He told us in 2008 that his top priority was to fundamentally transform the country, and national security is a distraction from that. I believe he is the first president, Republican or Democrat, since the attack on Pearl Harbor who does not wake up every morning and think, "What threats does America face today?"

The people saw happened last year, and they made Obama's national security failures critical in several key elections. I think the message was unambiguous.