There is no such thing as an unimportant person in an organization.

I don't want to spend the rest of my life giving speeches.

How often have we seen politicians take a principle position only to give it up three days later? That is what makes democracy so fascinating.

Leadership is solving problems.

I served 40 years in government, and I'm not looking forward to a position or an assignment. Of course, I have always said if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it. But I am in no way interested in returning to government. But I, of course, would sit and talk to any president who wishes to talk to me.

You need to learn what people have done, but you need to learn where they have failed... Usually when they fail it is in the execution.

With respect to our friends in the [Iraq] region, each has its own system, each will have to make its own judgment as to whether it will change, how fast it will change, and we hope that we can help influence them as to how change comes about and what change might be better for them than other forms of change.