Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot master revolutions; every great achievement was an idea before it became a reality. Cathedrals cannot be built by those who are paralyzed by doubt or consumed by cynicism. If a society loses the capacity for great conception, it can be administered but not governed.

The American formal position has been that we oppose violence by governments against their people. That principle should not be abandoned.

I knew Deng Xiaoping when he came out of prison. He had, after all, been imprisoned for nearly ten years by Mao. I know what China looked like before he took over, and so in my own mind, I don't think of Deng Xiaoping as an oppressor. I think of somebody who, faced with that crisis, made a very painful and decision with which I cannot agree. But I also think of him as a great reformer.

America has made it very clear in several administrations that if there is an attack by China on Taiwan, the United States is very likely to resist.

I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people.

For the Soul of France is masterful history, brilliantly researched, and hard to put down.