Scott Walker in The Washington Post

On Foreign Policy: Foreign policy is about leadership, not PhD's

Walker responded by ticking through his recent itinerary of face time with foreign policy luminaries: a breakfast with Henry Kissinger, a huddle with George Shultz and tutorials at the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institute. But then Walker suggested that didn't much matter: "I think foreign policy is something that's not just about having a PhD or talking to PhD's," he said. "It's about leadership."

Walker contended that "the most significant foreign policy decision of my lifetime" was then-President Ronald Reagan's move to bust a 1981 strike of air traffic controllers, firing some 11,000 of them. "It sent a message not only across America, it sent a message around the world," Walker said. America's allies and foes alike became convinced that Reagan was serious enough to take action and that "we weren't to be messed with," he said.

On Homeland Security: Listen to generals in the field to decide defense policy

Walker sought to convince [his audience] that if he were elected president, "I would listen to the chain of command. I would listen to the generals in the field, not just those in the joint chiefs. I would listen to the secretary of state, to the secretary of defense and to the national security adviser."