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.

In this day and age, the U.S. and Europe do not have the luxury of focusing solely on a single region.

Governing is different than campaigning, and that comes with a whole different level of responsibility.

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.

Since I've had a career, my hair has been more or less professional.

What I learned is that policymakers have to force consideration of actions that may not have occurred to them at the time.

President Obama is perhaps the smartest person I've ever worked with.