Quote

I'd spent 25 years in government when I left the Defense Department back in '93, decided I'd go spend the rest of my career in the private sector, and then the president tapped me to come be his running mate. And it's been a remarkable experience. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I have had a career in public service.

My government career is over.

Working in Washington, trying to make a difference, that was a very meaningful time for me, a period of personal growth.

I had the chance to be governor for eight years and I took a year to transition out and a year to transition in, so that's a decade of my life where I pursued my own ambitions and I thought it was time to rearrange my life to focus on other things.

I went to college and law school with the help of the GI Bill. That experience moved me so much, I dedicated the rest of my life to serving this great country and helping others succeed.

I have a career, I worked so hard for it.

I got the first job and kept going. Once I got a job, I very much wanted to keep getting jobs, basically. I did try to learn what I could in those first couple of decades.