Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

Any country on the face of the Earth with an active intelligence program knows that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work.

You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.

The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.

Know that the immediate staff and others in the Administration will assume that your manner, tone and tempo reflect the President's.

Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive.