After the 1960s and ’70s, there were real doubts about whether a mortal man could handle the country’s highest office. It had destroyed Johnson, corrupted Nixon, and overwhelmed Ford and Carter. – Nancy Gibbs
Terror works like a musical composition, so many instruments, all in tune, playing perfectly together to create their desired effect. Sorrow and horror and fear. – Nancy Gibbs
Sure, we want to know what a president believes in… but that doesn’t always mean he should tell us. – Nancy Gibbs
On a normal day, we value heroism because it is uncommon. On Sept. 11, we valued heroism because it was everywhere. – Nancy Gibbs
It’s always been a luxury to be able to hop a plane to Paris, to Venice, to the Grand Canyon. – Nancy Gibbs
Most of us were probably less than immaculately honest as teenagers; it’s practically encoded into adolescence that you savor your secrets, dress in disguise, carve out some space for experiments and accidents and all the combustible lab work of becoming who you are. – Nancy Gibbs
The understanding of Syria’s devastating civil war has been distorted by the immense danger and difficulty of covering it. – Nancy Gibbs
Once a conflict has dragged on for a decade, most people are tired of war – and the troubles that flow from it. – Nancy Gibbs
In design as in life, smart can also mean wise, kind, inspiring – and cost-effective. And that has a charm all its own. – Nancy Gibbs
I’m sentimental about many things: the lumpy feel of a baby’s unused feet, the metallic smell of the air before the first snow, the last scene in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ But Valentine’s Day leaves me cold. – Nancy Gibbs
Members of royal families are born into a world of indulgence and entitlement, and the princelings who grow up that way may never have to develop any discipline. – Nancy Gibbs
I’m wondering how many elected figures any of us could find who do not, in the front or back of their minds, remember who does them favors, who doesn’t. – Nancy Gibbs
Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room. For most, meals were informal, a kind of rolling refueling; often only the men sat down. – Nancy Gibbs
I’ve been grateful that ‘Time’s’ reach and mandate is so broad; anything you’re interested in, you can usually write about. – Nancy Gibbs
War is being waged all across the country against the invasive plant and animal species – some 50,000 of them – now spreading across the U.S. – Nancy Gibbs
New Orleans lives by the water and fights it, a sand castle set on a sponge nine feet below sea level, where people made music from heartache, named their drinks for hurricanes and joked that one day you’d be able to tour the city by gondola. – Nancy Gibbs
There was a time when researchers imagined that Plan B, or the morning-after pill, might become not an emergency form of contraception but a routine one; women would take it once a month to induce a period and never even know whether they had gotten pregnant. – Nancy Gibbs
Americans are grateful for the connection and convenience their phones provide, helping them search for a lower price, navigate a strange city, expand a customer base or track their health and finances, their family and friends. – Nancy Gibbs
Be bored and see where it takes you, because the imagination’s dusty wilderness is worth crossing if you want to sculpt your soul. – Nancy Gibbs
There’s a smartphone gait: the slow sidewalk weave that comes from being lost in conversation rather than looking where you’re going. – Nancy Gibbs
The leading cause of death for girls 15 to 19 worldwide is not accident or violence or disease; it is complications from pregnancy. Girls under 15 are up to five times as likely to die while having children than are women in their 20s, and their babies are more likely to die as well. – Nancy Gibbs
I have two daughters: One an open book, one a locked box. So the question of privacy is a challenging one. How much do kids need? How much should we give? How do we prepare them to live in a world where the very notion of privacy opens a generational chasm? – Nancy Gibbs
I’ve always found that once you’re in the door of a place and you have the chance to show how you operate and how talented you are, then anything can happen. – Nancy Gibbs
The Catholic Church is one of the oldest, largest and richest institutions on earth, with a following 1.2 billion strong, and change does not come naturally. – Nancy Gibbs