I am the only high-ranking U.S. official to ever meet with Kim Jong-il, and we are the same height and both wear high heels.

The reason I made women's issues central to American foreign policy, was not because I was a feminist, but because we know that societies are more stable if women are politically and economically empowered.

Foreign policy is now a huge field. It isn't just people who are studying political science. There are so many aspects to it in terms of understanding hard science for people who are studying climate change, or people who are interested in health policy or food security, or people who care about education.

And so I think that the idea of America working with other countries to solve problems is good for us, and it is part of digging us out of the “my way or the highway” approach that was evident in the previous eight years.

Real leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an inner voice. It comes from realizing that the time has come to move beyond waiting to doing.

When combined with information and communication technologies, microcredit can unleash new opportunities for the world's poorest entrepreneurs and thereby revitalize the village economies they serve.

I do think that one needs to have respect for people who are older. And I really do love the idea that one can respect generations.