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I am bitter.

You don't seem to be. You seem to be optimistic.

Just at the moment. After all, people never thought we'd find drugs to bring people out of deep depression and tranquilise then in manic states. We always thought they would find drugs to correct serious mental illnesses, and we've certainly been right about that. I can remember when there was nothing you could do about high blood pressure. I have to think that in spite of everything we're going to find a lot of answers that are not yet with us.

Last year you evinced a strong interest -- and this was a new area for you -- in eye research.

Yes, I'm still interested in eye research. There's been an effort to show that treatment with laser beams will reduce diabetic diseases of the eye, that will reduce diabetic retinopathy and thereby reduce blindness from diabetes. We got $70 million for the Eye Institute in the Senate largely because three members of the Senate had eye operations recently. None of the House members have, so it will be interesting to see how the eye appropriation fares. Isn't it something?