Condoleezza Rice Quotes

Democratic openings that come about in that way - the overthrow of a totalitarian government by external powers - it makes it really hard to make those first steps toward democracy.

Our effort to build stability through authoritarians in the Middle East for 60 years had given us neither democracy nor stability.

We still go out and elect people who we think are going to govern and better our interests. So we may not have the same confidence in the people we elect, but we still go out and elect them.

Multiethnic character of America is very attractive to people. They also see a place where you get ahead, not because of where you came from, but because of where you want to go.

We can't afford to let the international community and the world lose faith in the diplomatic track.

The United States has no credible evidence that Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria early last year before the U.S.-led war that drove Saddam Hussein from power.

I think there are plenty of men out there who are capable and accomplished in their own realm. You don't have to be in the same field.

It was really wonderful playing with Aretha [ Franklin]. I knew that she knew what she was doing, so all I had to do was sit in the background and vamp a little bit.

I play a lot chamber music.As for something that's hard for me to play, before I leave this Earth I'm hoping to play Brahms' Second Piano Concerto.

Fortunately, I started very young, so I read music very well. And my favorite composers to play are Brahms and Mozart.

I believe in having a private life.

What we're hearing from everyone is that they understand that Saddam Hussein is a threat. They understand that he's been a threat for a long time.

Richard Clarke had plenty of opportunities to tell us, in the administration, that he thought the war on terrorism was moving in the wrong direction and he chose not to.

[I'm] very fortunate and blessed person who still has a lot of living to do.

[My favorite dish to cook] is fried chicken, and by the way I'm good at it, too. I make really good fried chicken.

I've always said that I expected to grow up and get married like any nice southern girl, but the fact is you don't get married in the abstract. You find someone that you'd like to be married to.

I'm happy and content in my life, and I chalk that up to wonderful parents and a wonderful God.

I'm not personally fearful, but I look out, and there are a number of things that concern me, and I'm hopeful that we can overcome them.

I may not agree with everything, but our President, just like President [George W.] Bush did, is trying to do his best under difficult circumstances.

I believe our Presidents work hard and it's the loneliest job in the world.

I'm very proud that we stood for the proposition that no man, woman or child should ever have to live in tyranny. We believed in democracy and promoted it.

There is not going to be any pass for Palestinian leadership in fighting terror.

Working very closely with the Department of Homeland Security to match up what is available with what is needed.

What I tell student athletes is first of all, you've made good choices this far in order to be able to be in college and to be an athlete. Keep making good choices.

America is a remarkable place in that social attitudes change almost imperceptibly, and then you wake up the next day and they've changed. But they've been changing all the time.

I have several [favorite clothes designers], but I like to wear Akris, Oscar De La Renta and Giorgio Armani.

In light of 50 years of bondage of Eastern Europe, [invading the Soviet Union in 1948 to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons] was probably a reasonable thing to do.

There are some places that have had real quarrels with the United States' policies, but I think the country is very well-respected worldwide.

You never cede control of your own ability to be successful to something called racism.

We're in the middle of the transformation of a society that has handled its politics through repression to a society that will handle its politics through democratic institutions.

What we will not wait for is that particular nexus of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction that is extremism, and the technology to come together in a way that is harmful to the United States.

I find that the great majority of public servants across the entire political spectrum come because they believe in the United States and they want to change the world.

Diplomacy, if properly practiced, is not just talking for the sake of talking.

Even when you cherish democratic ideals, it is never easy to turn them into effective democratic institutions. This process will take decades.

it is a longstanding principle that sitting national security advisers do not testify before the Congress.

We [USA] need to deal with our problems here at home if we're going to be strong enough to lead abroad.

I'm a terrible long-term planner.

Everybody in the world is capable of democratic development. Some people in the world are unlucky enough to get stuck with really bad political leadership and with really bad political institutions.

The United States government does not authorise or condone torture of detainees. Torture, and conspiracy to commit torture, are crimes under US law, wherever they may occur in the world.

As I was telling my husb — As I was telling President Bush.

Arnold Rampersad is a really good person. A really good person. As a matter of fact, he came to Stanford when I was Provost.

It was actually fun to write [memoir], because I went back to interview people my parents had taught or who had worked with them, and I learned a lot about them that I hadn't known.

I believe that Reverend [Florine] Thompson's hit on something. My parents, I and a lot of my friends growing up in that community had tremendous drive.

I love to watch football.I actually really love to watch almost any competition with a score at the end.

I love sports. I play golf now, which is relatively new for me. I only took it up about five years ago. I also like playing piano, and I love being with my family and friends.

I've never really been a workaholic.

In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development.

At no time did I intend to, or do I believe that I did put forward false information to the American people.

There are many other arrows in our diplomatic quiver.

The United States is willing to exert strong leadership to give diplomacy its very best chance to succeed.