His administration, he says, "will insist that bureaucrats work more and talk less."

He said the conversations filled a gap because the administration was not talking directly to Tehran.

Importantly, the administration has talked about pre-emption in a very public way.

"Indeed, the administration itself has talked publicly and repeatedly about its successes in the area of financial surveillance."

The administration has talked of a much shorter time frame, maybe 72 hours.

Two administrations here have talked about developing the 18-mile waterfront.

The administration will talk with them, he said, "once an environment of genuinely free discussion has been restored."

The administration talked a strong story, but a lot of us are kicking our butts about how we voted last time around.

And for two years, this administration didn't talk at all to North Korea.

While the administration talked about diplomacy, several officials said they were exploring ideas to put renewed economic pressure on the North.