Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton (born 26 October 1947) U.S. Senator; wife of former U.S President Bill Clinton; born Hillary Diane Rodham

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I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.

We are here to advance the cause of women and to advance the cause of democracy and to make it absolutely clear that the two are inseparable. There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard. There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives.
- Keynote Address at the Vital Voices Conference in Vienna, Austria (11 July 1997)

From my perspective, this is part of the continuing political campaign against my husband... I mean, look at the very people who are involved in this. They have popped up in other settings. The great story here for anybody willing to find it, write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president.
- Countering accusations that her husband, Bill Clinton, had had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky; Interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's Today show (27 January 1998)

In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.
- Senate speech (10 October 2002)

He ran a gas station down in St. Louis... No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of the 20th century.
- Widely reported introduction to a quotation by Mahatma Gandhi : "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." which caused some controversy: "MEANWHILE : Gandhi, for one, would have found it funny", International Herald Tribune (21 January 2004)

I wonder if it's possible to be a Republican and a Christian at the same time.
- C-SPAN broadcast (21 June 2004)

We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.
- Explaining her opposition to President Bush's tax cut in San Francisco (28 June 2004)

We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.

Eleanor Roosevelt understood that every one of us every day has choices to make about the kind of person we are and what we wish to become. You can decide to be someone who brings people together, or you can fall prey to those who wish to divide us. You can be someone who educates yourself, or you can believe that being negative is clever and being cynical is fashionable. You have a choice.

I believe that a worthwhile life is defined by a kind of spiritual journey and a sense of obligation.

I have gone from a Barry Goldwater Republican to a New Democrat, but I think my underlying values have remained pretty constant; individual responsibility and community. I do not see those as being mutually inconsistent.

I have met thousands and thousands of pro-choice men and women. I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is not being pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is trusting the individual to make the right decision for herself and her family, and not entrusting that decision to anyone wearing the authority of government in any regard.

I will fight against the division politics of revenge and retribution. If you put me to work for you, I will work to lift people up, not put them down.

I'm sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you're not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we're Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration.

In the Bible it says they asked Jesus how many times you should forgive, and he said 70 times 7. Well, I want you all to know that I'm keeping a chart.

Our lives are a mixture of different roles. Most of us are doing the best we can to find whatever the right balance is . . . For me, that balance is family, work, and service.

The challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible.

The challenges of change are always hard. It is important that we begin to unpack those challenges that confront this nation and realize that we each have a role that requires us to change and become more responsible for shaping our own future.

When I am talking about "It Takes a Village", I'm obviously not talking just about or even primarily about geographical villages any longer, but about the network of relationships and values that do connect us and binds us together.