For all its considerable merits and inspirational principles, the American system is based upon a continuous uninterrupted process of election campaigns, stretching out year after year. Lost in the perpetual scramble is any long-term vision.

I think there are always going to be fanatics and charismatic extremists who are going to be able to draw a following.

I don't think we've ever lived in such a dangerous time, on a range of different levels. We also live in an extremely exciting time with a multitude of opportunities for each and every one of us to engage our individual voices, to engage more effectively collectively, to tackle some of these issues that would have seemed beyond our reach just a few years ago.

I had never imagined myself, nor aspired to be, a member of a royal family. I wanted to be in the Peace Corps, not a princess!

In the poorest countries...it is women who are the key to breaking out of poverty...and preparing another generation for...leading their countries into real security.

There were initiatives I have remained involved with in the U.S. and in the Middle East, like the Peace Corps, which might be summed up as, "Ask not that the world serve you, but ask what you can do to serve the world."

I spent the first years working in Jordan trying to learn as much as I could about what was taking place in the country, about where there were gaps in the development process that needed attention.