Most foreign policies that history has marked highly in whatever country have been originated by leaders who were opposed by experts.

I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president - with the possible exceptions of Johnson FDR and Lincoln - just in terms of what we've gotten done in modern history. But you know but when it comes to the economy we've got a lot more work to do. And we're gonna keep on at it.

The biggest mistakes early on involved foreign policy and involved the strategy for health care.

I don't think it should be a surprise when we're talking about energy and trying to have more home-grown energy be less reliant on foreign oil when you look at our health care that we're trying to get more affordable health care that these are going to create major debates in this country and be somewhat polarizing.

If you asked somebody 'what do you wish for in life?' they wouldn't say 'happiness.' I would have answered 'excitement knowledge ' God knows - I mean many many different things but certainly not 'happiness'. It seemed like a foreign concept to wish for something that specific and that singular.

The knowledge of languages was very useful. I have a university degree in foreign languages and literature.

Urban America has been redlined. Government has not offered tax incentives for investment as it has in a dozen foreign markets. Banks have redlined it. Industries have moved out they've redlined it. Clearly to break up the redlining process there must be incentives to green-line with hedges against risk.

Power must be used but it must be tempered by soul-searching and the recognition of our human capacity for error. That is the maxim that should inform our approach to every challenge from reforming state government to engaging in foreign affairs.

I am often asked if when I was secretary I had problems with foreign men. That is not who I had problems with because I arrived in a very large plane that said United States of America. I had more problems with the men in our own government.

We have a government that borrows $4 billion a day. We have a government that owes trillions of dollars in debt half of that to foreigners most of that to Chinese investors. I don't - that is extreme. Not only is it extreme. It's insane and it's unsustainable.

Whatever it is that the government does sensible Americans would prefer that the government does it to somebody else. This is the idea behind foreign policy.

Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.

Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.

Politics are for foreigners with their endless wrongs and paltry rights. Politics are a lousy way to get things done. Politics are like God's infinite mercy a last resort.

I'm not a prophet I can only use historical reality to come to a view of the future and my view is that Africa will return to being African and not European. The advent of colonialism was foreign to the country itself but it will return to what it was before the Europeans arrived.

I'm convinced there's a small room in the attic of the Foreign Office where future diplomats are taught to stammer.

To cement a new friendship especially between foreigners or persons of a different social world a spark with which both were secretly charged must fly from person to person and cut across the accidents of place and time.