One of the things I write about a bit in my Madam Secretary memoir is on Rwanda, where I was an instructed ambassador at the U.N., and my instructions were to not vote for increased forces there, and I didn't like my instructions. So I got up and called Washington and said, "Change my instructions," and they didn't.

We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction.

Well we're good friends so I'm a little prejudice, but I think [Hillary Clinton] is incredibly qualified, and better prepared to be president than almost anyone who's ever run frankly.

There are an awful lot of things going on that need understanding and explanation, but - to put it mildly - the world is a mess.

Life is grim, and we don't have to be grim all the time.

The cover-up, more than the initial wrongdoing, is what is most likely to bring you down.

Really, I have to laugh because there was a whole set of stories that made me sound like the Dragon Lady, you know, 'tough this and tough that.' Then there is this business about 'gooey.' The bottom line is I am a pragmatic idealist.