Quotes from Bill Clinton

I had to teach myself, long ago, that I couldn't follow my baby girl around and make sure the world was kind to her.

Let her work for it.

was first assigned security protection during the primaries, when I was a governor viewed as a long shot for the nomination.

Saturday morning, 6:52 a.m. The limousine is parked on 13th Street Northwest by the curb. Vice President Katherine Brandt sits in the back of the limo, her stomach churning, but not from hunger.

Correction. He's no idiot. He's a ruthless tactician who orchestrated the takeover of the House, who knows his members better than they know themselves, who plays a long political game, who never forgets anyone who crosses him, however slight the insult or disrespect, who moves the pieces of the chessboard only after careful deliberation.

He turns to her, his lethal blue eyes reduced to a squint. "Kathy." "Lester. Be brief." "I have the votes in the House," he says. "The House is wrapped up like a bow. Is that brief enough?" One of the things she has learned over the years is the art of not responding too quickly. It buys you time and makes you seem more deliberative.

This one is for me only. It was taken less than a week before she died. Her face is blotchy from treatments; she has only wisps of hair on her head. Her face is almost skeletal. To most people, this would be hard to look at—Rachel Carson Duncan at her absolute worst, finally succumbing to a ravaging disease. But to me, it's Rachel at her best, her strongest, her most beautiful—the smile in her eyes, her peace and resolve.

They climb the stairs with the proper tactical approach, securing each staircase with a single soldier—a scout—before the rest of the team proceeds upward. There are blind spots everywhere. Ambush opportunities on each level. Their contact at the front desk has given an all-clear on the stairwells, but he is only as competent as the cameras he monitors.

Think how much more rewarding it would be if we all came to work every day asking, "Who can we help today and how can we do it?" instead of "Who can I hurt and how much coverage can I get for it?

Our democracy cannot survive its current downward drift into tribalism, extremism, and seething resentment.

And to the memory of my grandfather, who taught me to look up to people others looked down on, because we're not so different after all

In America, racism is our oldest curse. But there are other divides—over religion, immigration, sexual identity. Sometimes the "them" strategy is just a narcotic to feed the beast in all of us.

make us more powerful and yet more vulnerable at the same time. The greater the power, the greater the vulnerability. You think, rightly so, that you are at the apex of your power, that you can do more things than ever before. But I see you at the peak of your

Post-it notes

approval from the Senate four years

Mourn your losses later, after the fight's over, Sergeant Melton used to say. When you're in the fight, fight.

fascinating discussion of the…cyclical nature of history. Mankind is predictable. Governments mistreat people—their own people and others. They always have, and they always will. So the people react. There is action and reaction. This is how history has progressed and how it always will.

laugh. "I don't suppose that offer of a pardon stands." She seems embarrassed to even suggest it. How quickly she has plummeted. Walking into this room, expecting to be tapped as the new vice president, the hero of the hour, and now just praying that she can avoid prison. Liz Greenfield returns. This time, I wave her in. Carolyn offers no resistance as the FBI takes her into custody.

Today it's "us versus them" in America. Politics is little more than blood sport. As a result, our willingness to believe the worst about everyone outside our own bubble is growing, and our ability to solve problems and seize opportunities is shrinking.

Think of how much more rewarding it would be if we all came to work every day asking, Who can we help today and how can we do it? instead of Who can I hurt and how much coverage can I get for it?

Participation in our democracy seems to be driven by the instant-gratification worlds of Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and the twenty-four-hour news cycle. We're using modern technology to revert to primitive kinds of human relations.

There is nothing wrong in America that can't be fixed with what is right in America.

The sharks are circling, their nostrils twitching at the scent of blood. Thirteen of them, to be exact, eight from the opposition party and five from mine, sharks against whom I've been preparing defenses with lawyers and advisers. I've learned the hard way that no matter how prepared you are, there are few defenses that work against predators. At some point, there's nothing you can do but jump in and fight back.

We can not build our own future without helping others build theirs.