The United States is the leader of the free world.

What you always do before you make a decision is consult. The best public policy is made when you are listening to people who are going to be impacted. Then, once policy is determined, you call on them to help you sell it.

Despite recent media reports that have clouded, or even misrepresented, the facts, there is compelling evidence that al-Qaida and Iraq have been linked for more than a decade.

In liberating Iraq, we have rid the nation and the rest of the world from the danger of Saddam Hussein.

The very idea of freedom incites fear in the hearts of terrorists across the world.

In seeking success you must also seek fulfillment. Ask yourself not only what you want to be but who you want to be.

Iraq is the central battleground in the war on terror. The terrorists certainly know what is at stake, which is why they are pulling out all the stops to derail our efforts there. They know that a free and democratic Iraq is a serious blow to their interests.

Women share with men the need for personal success, even the taste for power. And no longer are we willing to satisfy those needs through the achievements of surrogates, whether husbands, children or merely role models.

When you're in your nineties and looking back, it's not going to be how much money you made or how many awards you've won. It's really what did you stand for. Did you make a positive difference for people?

[On Ronald Reagan:] The President doesn't want yes-men around. When he says no, we all say no.

[On power:] Some people really have almost a disdain for that word. They feel it is alien to conscience. Power for power's sake, no. But the positive use of power for positive purposes is very important. You have to understand that. You've got to have a seat at the policy table if you want to make a difference.

The best public policy is made when you are listening to people who are going to be impacted.