I am straight forward; I am not manipulative; I am not two-faced. And I think that that has served me well in all of my roles, particularly as a diplomat, because people knew if I said something, I meant it. If I said no, I meant no, and if I said we could make this work, we would make it work.

I'm sort of in this rhythm where we want to make the most of the time we have, but when it's done it will be time for it to be done.

Progress is the product of human agency. Things get better because we make them better. Things go wrong when we get too comfortable, when we fail to take risks or seize opportunities.

People are consuming the news that is comfortable for them, not necessarily the news that is real or that they need to know.

One can't erase the tremendous burden of apartheid in 10 years, 20 years, I believe, even 30 years.

You have to make change.

There are plenty of meetings, receptions, dinners, and so if you are [at the U.N.] any length of time, and I was there for four and a half years, you formed pretty significant relationships with people from all over the world. And that's important to the work you do. If you're trying to rally the General Assembly to vote for something that matters to the United States, those personal relationships count.