Donna Shalala

The dog doesn’t know the difference between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so I have to walk the dog early those days too.

I think anyone that thought that we were coming in as a bunch of liberal Democrats to deliver more large-scale social programs was nuts. I sure didn’t expect it.

Sex education has to do with what’s in people’s head.

We can’t afford as a nation – not because of money but because of our social fabric – to have large numbers of people who are not working.

The government is fully capable of delivering services. Even complex services.

We have to mainstream everybody. No matter what their circumstances when they were growing up. Part of that is knowing that after they’re finished with school, everybody in this country gets up and goes to work.

Asking the government to help you for short periods of time is different than asking the government to take care of you for the rest of your life.

Sure, it is apparent that presidents are looking at polls, but they are also stepping up on issues. President Clinton stepped up on tobacco. He shaped the polls on the tobacco issue.

I’ve spent my whole life with people underestimating me.

But for me, it is when a student has died. I find the death of a young person the most difficult and painful of times. To explain it to other young people, to see a bright future snuffed out, is just awful. I am haunted by those deaths.

I am interested in getting people to use the healthcare system at the right time, getting them to see the doctor early enough, before a small health problem turns serious.

I get to work at about 7:30 or 8 unless I have a breakfast meeting.

Every year, I am reminded of the kids who aren’t in the freshman class and aren’t graduating. I remember every single one of them. That is the worst of times for me, to see the future snuffed out.

We are living longer, and we need to live better.

In every community, whether large or small, there are people who lead in their community in easy and difficult times.

I try to deal with my serious reading before work.

I bring other constituencies – I also have ties to minority communities. And obviously, to the world of world-class research universities. So I can bring some constituencies that I’m used to working with.

What you really remember at the beginning was that you have to throw a budget together. We made some terrible mistakes at the beginning in my own budget that took us at least a year to catch up on.

I have to admit, in January and February I was in an absolute fuzz. I had no one on board. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what I was doing, but we didn’t have all the pieces put together.

But I have a driver, so I can return calls while I’m in the car.

By putting people around me who will calm me down and slow me down and make sure I work through an issue.

We have not yet concluded that needle-exchange programs do not encourage drug use.

I have always hired people of different ages. Young people and older people. People in their 70s and in their 20s. People who are fully capable of talking back to me.

I’ll be one of the spokespeople, one of the people who sells the Administration’s plans.

I have long ties to the women’s community.

You don’t want to destroy the energy that comes out of a campaign.

I’m pretty disciplined and am almost always on schedule.

I think President Bush tried to step up on Social Security even though the polls showed that was unpopular. He has not been successful and backed off, but I admire people who take on big problems.