“The art of diplomacy is finding a reasonable route among imperfect alternatives.”

“JFK to RFK: To survive in politics, you sometimes have to be willing to make fun of yourself.”

“Vietnam was a palpable failure. And of course, in retrospect, it was even more clearly a disaster and a failure than maybe people understood at the time.”

“Like Lyndon Johnson, President Obama understands that timidity in a time of troubles is a prescription for failure.”

“The consequence of the Bay of Pigs failure wasn't an acceptance of Castro and his control of Cuba but, rather, a renewed determination to bring him down by stealth.”

“Public scandals are America's favorite parlor sport. Learning about the flaws and misdeeds of the rich and famous seems to satisfy our egalitarian yearnings.”

“The worlds most successful people didnt wait for someone else to pick them, but instead, they picked themselves.”

“Play around. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.”

“Want something else more than success. Success is a lovely thing, but your desire to say something, your worth, and your identity shouldnt rely on it, because its not guaranteed and its not permane...”

“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.”

“There is no future without a past, because what is to be cannot be imagined except as a form of repetition.”

“In the end, your past is not my past and your truth is not my truth and your solution - is not my solution.”

“If you can't experience the humanity of people who don't look like you, you're not civilized enough to be an officer of the peace.”

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

“My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat, situation excellent. I attack.”