“My most important title is still “mom-in-chief.” My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.”

“My daughters are the heart of my heart and the center of my world”

“He’s always asking: ‘Is that new? I haven’t seen that before.’ It’s like, Why don’t you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet.”

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will notalways be able to solve all of the world's problems at oncebut don't ever underestimate the importance you can havebecause history has shown us that courage can be contagiousand hope can take on a life of its own.”

“Studying in countries like China isn't only about your prospects in the global marketplace. It's not just about whether you can compete with your peers in other countries to make America stronger. It's also about whether you can come together and work together with them to make our world stronger. It's about the friendships you make, the bonds of trust you establish and the image of America that you project to the rest of the world.”

“And then, on September 11, the world fractured.It's beyond my skill as a writer to capture that day and the days that would follow--the planes, like specters, vanishing into steel and glass; the slow-motion cascade of the towers crumbling into themselves; the ash-covered figures wandering the streets; the anguish and the fear. Nor do I pretend to understand the stark nihilism that drove the terrorists that day and that drives their brethren still. My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those would murder innocents with abstract, serene satisfaction.”

“My little girls can break my heart. They can make me cry just looking at them eating their string beans.”