A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives a politics that does not speak to and include people is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.

Only very intelligent people don't wish they were in politics and I'm dumb enough to want to be in there.

I was a woman in a man's world. I was a Democrat in a Republican administration. I was an intellectual in a world of bureaucrats. I talked differently. This may have made me a bit like an ink blot.

Conservatism has had from its inception vigorously positive intellectually rigorous agenda and thinking. That agenda should have in my three pillars: strengthen the economy strengthen our security and strengthen our families.

All I knew about Ethiopia was from a few records that I like as well as what I read about the famine. But you get there and it's another world. It's filled with art and music and poetry and intellectuals and writers - all kinds of people.

I think that one possible definition of our modern culture is that it is one in which nine-tenths of our intellectuals can't read any poetry.

Poetry is at the centre of my life too emotionally speaking and intellectually speaking - it's just that I'm one of those people who enjoy doing other stuff as well.

Imagine the peace symbol. The peace symbol has three pieces in it. One piece is emotion that's your body. Another piece has spirit in it that's your fuel. Another piece has intellect in it and that's your steering wheel. You can never overdo the fuel that goes into the body which is the emotions and the steering wheel to drive it.

That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace and I saw him making war. He mobilized me before the war. The man was a very rare combination between a real intellectual and a born leader. There is a contradiction between the two.

The forces that are driving mankind toward unity and peace are deep-seated and powerful. They are material and natural as well as moral and intellectual.