Cultural constraints condition and limit our choices, shaping our characters with their imperatives.

I don't get drunk, I get a little happy on rare occasion, and I'm probably dancing if I'm that happy.

The kids are Job One. So, to be quite candid, if they need me, I do my utmost to make sure I'm there.

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

Democrats can't get elected unless things get worse-and things won't get worse unless they get elected.

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

South Africa's increasingly, for example, the largest foreign investor in various other parts of Africa.

Democrats can't get elected unless things get worse - and things won't get worse unless they get elected.

The larger picture here is that a North Korea with nuclear weapons adds to the larger proliferation risk.

Words can destroy. What we call each other ultimately becomes what we think of each other, and it matters.

Maturity is when we live by the truths that are in our heart and soul, truths we believe to be right for us.

I've been very lucky to have had a supportive family, a great education, enormous opportunity and challenge.

[The American position at the UN is] essentially impotent, without influence, heavily outvoted, and isolated.

Americans understand that our security is enhanced when the United States is trusted and respected in the world.

Bashar al-Assad and those who still stand by him are now responsible for the deaths of more than 20,000 in Syria.

Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal

Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal.

Society has never barred women from bread-winning roles, but only from economic roles that are profitable and respectable.

I always assume that democracy is the only good form of government, quite frankly, and democracy is always to be preferred

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

I always assume that democracy is the only good form of government, quite frankly, and democracy is always to be preferred.

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

It's in our interest to continue with the Paris Agreement and to deal with climate change as the real threat it actually is.

And I have no doubt that the American people generally believe the world is safer, and that we are safer, when we are stronger

President Obama is funny, he's thoughtful, he's challenging, he's fun to work with - and it's been an extraordinary privilege.

I conclude that it is a fundamental mistake to think that salvation, justice, or virtue come through merely human institutions.

And I have no doubt that the American people generally believe the world is safer, and that we are safer, when we are stronger.

For all their faults, right-wing authoritarian regimes more easily accept democratic reforms than left-wing totalitarian states.

Can I be blunt? Yes. Can I be diplomatic? Yes. Can I concoct a mixture of vinegar and honey when the circumstances warrant? Yes.

I was conscious of the fact that it could be to my disadvantage to marry a white guy - that some folks would hold that against me.

It may not be what you would've chosen, but we all have a responsibility to be active citizens and shape our system and our future.

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.

A doctrine of class war seemed to provide a solution to the problem of poverty to people who know nothing about how wealth is created

A doctrine of class war seemed to provide a solution to the problem of poverty to people who know nothing about how wealth is created.

What takes place in the Security Council more closely resembles a mugging than either a political debate or an effort at problem-solving.

I am blunt sometimes; I am diplomatic sometimes; I am all things in between. Abrasive, you know, I guess it's in the eye of the beholder.

You can't sit on the sidelines and read your iPhone and be on social media and expect everything to be cool. You have to be part of this.

I think most Americans understand that we went through a period in which American leadership was judged quite critically internationally.

I spend every day up at the United Nations where I have to interact with 192 other countries. I know how well the United States is viewed.

I have a range, and I'd much rather do things the nice way than the hard way, but sometimes you have to use all the tools at your disposal.

We've seen violent responses to 'Satanic Verses.' We've seen violent responses to the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in an evil way.

We are safer if there are not nuclear arsenals around the planet that can be utilized, stolen, sold to terrorists and others who would do harm.

Once you've learned to study in a bathing suit on the grass with muscled men throwing frisbees over your head, you can accomplish almost anything.

Truth, which is important to a scholar, has to be concrete. And there is nothing more concrete than dealing with babies, burps and bottles, frogs and mud.

All of us confront limits of body, talent, temperament. But that is not all. We are, all of us, also constrained by our time, our place, our civilization.

What we have done is when the threat has been directed at the United States, i.e., the terrorist threat from ISIL or Al-Qaeda in Syria, is to go after them.

Truth, which is important to a scholar, has got to be concrete. And there is nothing more concrete than dealing with babies, burps and bottles, frogs and mud.

I read a ton of paper every day. I read the newspapers, I read my intelligence materials, I read all the briefing materials. I read the newspaper in hard copy.

Legislation that would withhold funding for the United Nations is fundamentally flawed in concept and practice, sets us back, is self-defeating, and doesn't work.

The speed with which armies collapse, bureaucracies abdicate, and social structures dissolve once the autocrat is removed frequently surprises American Policy makers.

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