I learned in business that you had to be very careful when you told somebody that's working for you to do something, because the chances were very high he'd do it. In government, you don't have to worry about that.

Nothing ever gets settled in this town (Washington). It's not like running a company or even a university. It's a seething debating society, in which the debate never stops; in which people never give up, including me, and that's the atmosphere in which you administer.

If somebody had made that [deal] to me when I was a businessman, I would have said he proposed to give me the sleeves from his vest.

The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost.

Before you get mugged by reality, take out an insurance policy. It's the Reagan way.

World Affairs Councils are great organizations. They help keep people throughout our country alive to important developments in world affairs and underscore that, in the country, we stay engaged and we are part of the world.

Oh, you know. I am secretary of state. My trips aren't successful. I just talk to people.