Quotes from Valerie Jarrett

Given the daunting challenges that we face, it's important that president elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one.

If someone's trying to get you angry, the calmer you get, the angrier they'll get.

I've had people say to me, 'Well, I enjoy going to the firing range and using the assault weapons.' But the pleasure derived from that compared to the horrendous damage that it can do, we believe that the damage warrants banning assault weapons.

Companies have told us that they have employees who are near retirement age. We created a $5 billion reinsurance pool to help them bear the cost of those employees on the brink of retirement.

One of the problems I have with the administration is that they're not tough enough. They are waiting for BP to say, 'Oh, we've got a new plan to stop the oil leak.' They need to stop it, contain it, clean it up.

I want spend some time continuing to be a force for good.

I'm always trying to improve. I think I take criticism constructively.

I saw a complete lack of courage in Washington to tackle some of our biggest challenges.

I will admit that I often spend weekends after each 'House of Cards' season is released binge-watching the show for hours. But I watch it because it is entertaining, not because it reminds me of my day-to-day.

I had a very good friend who was two years older than I was, and she was in law school, and she said, 'It's a great thing to do when you have no idea what you want to do.' And she was right. I learned a lot, I practiced law for 10 years. I've never looked back once I stopped practicing law, but it was a really good experience.

I wasn't burdened by a personal history of prejudice. It's part of why I thought Barack could win.

No child should be expelled from preschool. And so we are calling on school districts around the country to end that practice. That benefits every child.

You can't just shuffle people around like they're deck chairs on a ship. You have to help them change their lives, and you have to give them the requisite resources to do so.

Our democracy... is only as good as the American people demand it should be.

The biggest strength we have as Democrats is encouraging people to speak up about what is in their best interest.

Some people might have different ideas about what progress looks like, and some are cynical and place their short-term political interests ahead of what is good for our country. But many of them aren't cynical and try hard to do their best.

The tech community has taken the first step by recognizing that diversity is a strength and realizing that many of them have to work on their culture.

What we wouldn't want to see is just a piece of legislation on border security and high tech immigration without focusing on the path to citizenship for the 11 million people who are here, and other provisions.

We have programs that are outdated and no longer effective - we need to get rid of those programs.

Let's put in place programs to ensure that all of our children are reading by third grade.

President Obama celebrates diversity, yet instinctively seeks common ground and builds on that common ground to make progress.

I didn't think I'd even know a president of the United States, let alone work in the White House. Even though my parents always said you can do whatever you want to do, I never dreamed of this kind of an opportunity.

I know it may be hard to imagine given how broken and gridlocked our politics truly are, but from the White House to, yes, Congress, the government is filled with hard-working, idealistic public servants working incredibly hard on tough issues, trying to make people's lives better and move the country, and our world, forward.

We have every confidence that people within the White House have behaved appropriately.