"I am willing to compete on my merits and on my character - not with the color of my skin. We talk about being a color-blind society, but I don't think the political process could actually handle that."

"I have often said one of the reasons more blacks don't support Republicans is because they don't trust the GOP establishment."

"I would love to be associated with some sports organization. I was a journalism major. That's kind of intriguing, to do something in the political-commentary arena."

"We need to remember that politics is all about people, not programs. We shouldn't want to take the humanness out of the political arena."

"Any institution faces two basic choices if they hope to spark new ideas. One is to leverage the brains trust within their organization by creating a special event dedicated to new thinking. The other is to look outside themselves to stimulate solutions."

"I have no control over what people think of me but I have 100% control of what I think of myself, and that is so important. And not just about your body, but so many ways of confidence. You're constantly learning how to be confident, aren't you?"

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."

"While eschewing emotion - and its companion, vulnerability - Obama should be careful not to sacrifice empathy, the 'I feel your pain' connection that sustained Clinton. This connection is the shorthand people use to measure their leaders' intentions. If people believe you're on their side, they will trust your decisions."