Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.

When I served as US Ambassador to NATO in the 1970s, the center of gravity in Europe was France and Germany.

Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.

It is hard to put a price on some things. What is the value of having prevented nuclear weapons from getting into the hands of a dictator like Saddam Hussein - or of Gadhafi?

America is not what's wrong with the world.

Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week.

Within a week, or a month, Saddam could give his WMD to al-Qaeda.