Mr Reed, an improbably clear-skinned 49, went through his own self-cleansing in 2006, when he was trounced in a race for lieutenant-governor of Georgia.
No man ever got as much out of life as G. K. Chesterton, and he remarked, "Here dies another day during which I have had eyes, ears, hands, and the great world around me."
Tensions have been rising between China, which claims almost all of the South China Sea, and some of the other Asian states that assert sovereignty over parts of it.
China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters, hence is entitled to exercise lawful sovereignty in this region.
He also expressed frustration at trying to negotiate an agreement with China when that country insists that it has sovereignty over the entire body of water.