I'm an American, first and ...

I\'m an American, first and foremost, and I\'m very proud - I said, I\'ve said to my beloved friend and colleague John McCain, a friend of 25 years, \
I'm an American, first and foremost, and I'm very proud - I said, I've said to my beloved friend and colleague John McCain, a friend of 25 years, "John, I love you, but I'm not just going to vote for you on the basis of our affection or friendship." And I've said to Barack Obama, "I admire you. I'll give you all the advice I can. But I'm not going to vote for you just because you're black." We have to move beyond this.
 Colin Powell

Quotes from the same author

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
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 Colin Powell
Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
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 Colin Powell
If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception; it is a prevailing attitude.
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 Colin Powell
We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years and we've done this as recently as the last year in Afghanistan and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and otherwise we have returned home to seek our own lives in peace.
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 Colin Powell
I think our initiative with respect to education and economic development can work in Saudi Arabia and it is up to the Saudis to decide how they wish to transform their society in order to make it prepared for the challenges of the 21st century.
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 Colin Powell