Top 237 Quotes & Sayings by Madeleine Albright - Page 2

It's important that we invest in America - literally. The terrorists wanted to destroy our economy, and we can't let our system fall apart. We also have to invest in one another.

I think that a president needs to have a variety of views presented. But also, there has to be a team effort, because otherwise, I think it creates a dissonance and difficulty.

For me, being raised in a free America made all the difference.

For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.

I loved being Secretary of State, that's probably evident to everyone who watched me.

Really, I have to laugh because there was a whole set of stories that made me sound like the Dragon Lady, you know, 'tough this and tough that.' Then there is this business about 'gooey.' The bottom line is I am a pragmatic idealist.

The greatest thrill in my life was to represent the United States of America.

Don't make me into this airy-fairy, moralist, idealist because I'm not.

I saw what happened when a dictator was allowed to take over a piece of a country and the country went down the tubes. And I saw the opposite during the war when America joined the fight.

I think the personal relationships I established mattered in terms of what I was able to get done. And I did bring women's issues to the center of our foreign policy.

I have always seen the United States as a force of good. And I have learned that there is the idealistic part about what we can do at the U.N. and there is a doable part. And I have learned what is more doable.

I'm a problem-solver.

And frankly, I don't understand - I mean, I'm obviously a card-carrying Democrat - but I can't understand why any woman would want to vote for Mitt Romney, except maybe Mrs. Romney.

I hope I'm wrong, but I am afraid that Iraq is going to turn out to be the greatest disaster in American foreign policy - worse than Vietnam, not in the number who died, but in terms of its unintended consequences and its reverberation throughout the region.

My parents were of the generation who thought they were the children of a free Czechoslovakia, the only democracy in central Europe.

And so I have studied, I have to tell you, revolutions and uprisings for a long time. They are all slightly different, but what they all look for is some kind of a mechanism to go from an authoritarian system to an open, democratic system.

If you look at my life, generally, I've been put in situations which were difficult and which I conquered.

I can't go out with a Republican.

I have had fun being who I became, so to speak.

We live in an image society. Speeches are not what anybody cares about; what they care about is the picture.

I know that war is very cruel and that life is harder when you aren't able to live in the place you called home.

I've never seen America as an imperialist or colonialist or meddling country.

I wasn't a normal professor. I had worked in government. I hadn't written nine zillion books. I was a hands-on professor.

I have always thought of myself as a Czechoslovak Catholic.

I am often asked if, when I was secretary, I had problems with foreign men. That is not who I had problems with, because I arrived in a very large plane that said United States of America. I had more problems with the men in our own government.

I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important.

I am a beneficiary of the American people's generosity, and I hope we can have comprehensive immigration legislation that allows this country to continue to be enriched by those who were not born here.

There's Madeleine, and then there's 'Madeleine Albright'. And I sometimes kind of think, who is this person? Once you become 'Madeleine Albright' it doesn't go away.

For me, America is really, truly the indispensable nation.

I really think that there was a great advantage in many ways to being a woman. I think we are a lot better at personal relationships, and then have the capability obviously of telling it like it is when it's necessary.

I am such a political person.

People are finding it harder and harder to relate to foreign policy.

As strong as the United States is, we can't deal with terrorism alone.

I think I've revived the costume-jewelry industry.

It's one thing to be religious, but it's another thing to make religion your policy.

Women have to be active listeners and interrupters - but when you interrupt, you have to know what you are talking about.

One of the things that was really an issue was I did not want to just be a woman secretary of state. I wanted to be a secretary of a state who was a woman, but not just chosen for that particular reason.

When Hillary served in the Senate, I saw her work day and night as a member of the Armed Services Committee - working with Republicans and Democrats to keep our military strong and protect our troops and their families.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You're trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren't very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

I have to tell you, my seven-year-old granddaughter said to my daughter, her mother, 'So what's the big deal about Grandma Maddy having been Secretary of State? Only girls are Secretaries of State.' Most of her lifetime, it's true. But at the time it really was a big deal.

I think that there is never an indispensable leader, you know? I think that there is a time with dignity that one needs to leave.

When Hillary was First Lady, we went to the Beijing Women's Conference. She courageously stood up and spoke out on behalf of human rights and women's rights, inspiring millions to fight for a better future.

I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life.

Whatever the job you are asked to do at whatever level, do a good job because your reputation is your resume.

I think this is a very hard choice, but the price - we think the price is worth it.

You have to learn to interrupt because you aren't going to get called on.

Our collective experience has shown that when women have the power to make their own choices, good things happen.

The world would be entirely different if it were run by women. I think it is true that we are more seeking consensus and don't have such big egos and have a variety of different ways of trying to get along. But anybody who says that the world would be better has forgotten high school. It depends on who the women are.

As you go along your own road in life, you will, if you aim high enough, also meet resistance... But no matter how tough the opposition may seem, have courage still and persevere.

Real leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an inner voice. It comes from realizing that the time has come to move beyond waiting to doing.

We have a responsibility in our time, as others have had in theirs, not to be prisoners of history but to shape history, a responsibility to fill the role of path-finder, and to build with others a global network of purpose and law.

The reason I made women's issues central to American foreign policy, was not because I was a feminist, but because we know that societies are more stable if women are politically and economically empowered.

I have very set and consistent principles, but I am flexible on tactics. I like to get the job done.

There are an awful lot of things going on that need understanding and explanation, but - to put it mildly - the world is a mess.

I am by nature a worried optimist.

If there's nobody in your way, you're not going anywhere.

Embrace the faith that every challenge surmounted by your energy; every problem solved by your wisdom; every soul stirred by your passion; and every barrier to justice brought down by your determination will ennoble your life, inspire others, serve your country, and explode outward the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth.

To put it mildly, the world is a mess.

There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.

History is written backwards but lived forwards.