A skeptical Couric interrupted, "But can you really, Senator, make that guarantee in all honesty that America will be safe under all circumstances?"

Kerry responded: "We won World War II. We won the Cold War. We know what we can do when we put our minds to it. We haven't done a third of the things that we need to do to win the war on terror."

In the next breath Kerry broadened his pledge, saying, "I think you can make the world safe if we begin to deal with the problems - not just using military muscle in certain parts of the world, but also use our economic power, our ideals."

Editor's note: