I learned a lot about my parents, who were both teachers. I had known that my parents were very strongly in favor of education. I had known that they had an impact on a lot of people, but people came out of the woodwork who have said, "You know, without your father, I would never have gone to college," very successful people. And so I learned how widespread their educational evangelism really was.
Condoleezza RiceAmerican national security and American economic interests, of course - every president, every secretary of state - that is the primary goal. As you are in this job and in the work, you begin to see, though, that in the long run, both American economic interests and American national security are better served when there are other decent countries in the world who are both your allies and even when your adversaries are acting more decently.
Condoleezza RiceMultilateral diplomacy is hard. It's slower, it's tougher, it's a bigger slog. I've learned that sometimes the things you'd most like to do something about, you really have difficulty unless the international community really mobilizes.
Condoleezza Rice