I had already learned from more than a decade of political life that I was going to be criticized no matter what I did, so I might as well be criticized for something I wanted to do.

Without volunteers, we'd be a nation without a soul.

You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you've tried. If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.

Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence.

My greatest disappointment in all the projects I worked on during the White House years was the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment to be ratified. ... Why all the controversy and why such difficulty in giving women the protection of the Constitution that should have been theirs long ago?

First ladies throughout our history have been expected to be adoring wives and perfect mothers.

I believe that one of the most important things to learn in life is that you can make a difference in your community no matter who you are or where you live.