As home secretary, I gained a reputation for being 'tough'; less concerned with liberty than with public protection.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Being home secretary involves having to face some of the worst of human behaviour and challenges of modern society.
I have a reputation for being the hardest working person in Congress.
I saw the prospect of serving as labor secretary as a wonderful opportunity to further the policies that I have been fighting for my whole life, and I had to seize it.
As a policymaker, as a public servant, I come to Washington, D.C., and I make difficult decisions and I make difficult decisions every day. And sometimes those decisions upset people.
When I first ran for public office, it was with the passion and idealism of a young man who believed that government could help make our lives better, that public service was a calling and that citizenship demanded responsibilities. There was a greater good.
I was an office secretary for a long time. A good secretary.
I was the Secretary of State of New Jersey in November 2000. I paid careful attention to the challenges that stemmed from inadequate voting systems in various places.
I was born into public service.
It's very hard to uphold individual liberty when the person you're representing is often a crook.
Since I was first nominated to serve as Treasury Secretary, I have been maligned as taking advantage of others' hardships in order to earn a buck. Nothing could be further from the truth.