--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hillary Clinton was an outstanding…" description: "\"Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy. And what I also know, because..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg" --- # Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She… ![“Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy. And what I also know, because I handle a lot of classified information, is that there's classified and then there's classified. There's stuff that is really top secret top…” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg) > “Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy. And what I also know, because I handle a lot of classified information, is that there's classified and then there's classified. There's stuff that is really top secret top secret, and there's stuff that is being presented to the president or the secretary of state that you might not want on the transom or, you know, going out over the wire, but is basically stuff that you could get in open source.” [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that classified information varies in sensitivity and that some “top secret” material may be less restricted than expected. **In simple terms:** Classified data has different levels of secrecy. Key Takeaway Recognize nuances in information handling. Themes politics security transparency Mood cautious analytical Type political reflective When to use this quote - policy making - media reporting - public discourse - legal compliance Key Concepts classification information hierarchy governmental trust Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance transparency with security? - What risks arise from misclassifying information? A Different Perspective The statement may oversimplify complex security protocols. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Classified information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classified-information/) [Jeopardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jeopardy/) [Open source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-source/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secretary-of-state-she-would-never-2/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I haven't been sorting through each and every aspect of this. Here's what I know: Hillary Clinton was an outstanding Secretary of State. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-haven-t-been-sorting-through-each-and-every-aspect-of-this-here-s/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I would never jeopardize classified information to be brought out to the public. This information is all open source. There is no reason to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-weldon/i-would-never-jeopardize-classified-information-to-be-brought-out-to/) [Curt Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-weldon/) > [I think that the only way that you really keep it a secret is by not telling anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-think-that-the-only-way-that-you-really-keep-it-a-secret-is-by-not/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [Old people really do have a secret though. You wanna know what it is? Luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/old-people-really-do-have-a-secret-though-you-wanna-know-what-it-is/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [In real danger sometimes even a democracy can really keep a secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-symington/in-real-danger-sometimes-even-a-democracy-can-really-keep-a-secret/) [Stuart Symington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-symington/) > [If any individual who objects to government policy can take it in their own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/if-any-individual-who-objects-to-government-policy-can-take-it-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I'll turn the page on a growing empire of classified information. We'll protect sources and methods, but we won't use sources and methods to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-ll-turn-the-page-on-a-growing-empire-of-classified-information-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Nobody wants to put the creditworthiness of the United States in jeopardy. Nobody wants to see the United States default. So we've got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-wants-to-put-the-creditworthiness-of-the-united-states-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-s-why-i-stand-here-tonight-because-for-two-hundred-and-thirty/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I was in the CIA for nine years. I am intimately familiar with the information classification system. I used it every day on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/i-was-in-the-cia-for-nine-years-i-am-intimately-familiar-with-the/) [Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/) > [I regret if my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States. It was never my intent to hurt anyone. When I chose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-regret-if-my-actions-hurt-anyone-or-harmed-the-united-states-it-was/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [What happens when I'm dealing with the problems in North Korea and the Middle East? Are you folks going to be reporting all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/what-happens-when-i-m-dealing-with-the-problems-in-north-korea-and/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/people-i-am-actually-fairly-smart-why-has-this-not-occurred-to-anyone/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Mr. Luskin also says that Rove did not knowingly disclose classified information and did not tell any reporters that Valerie Plame worked for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-isikoff/mr-luskin-also-says-that-rove-did-not-knowingly-disclose-classified/) [Michael Isikoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-isikoff/) ## More by Barack Obama > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/donald-trump-is-temperamentally-unfit/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What we've said to the girls is: 'If you guys ever decide that you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/what-we-ve-said-to-the-girls-is-if-you-guys-ever-decide-that-you-re/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I want to thank the Greek people publicly for their humanitarian response to the crisis of so many migrants and refugees seeking safety in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-to-thank-the-greek-people-publicly-for-their-humanitarian/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-had-a-farewell-dinner-for-some-of-my-senior-staff-and-generally/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ It's good to get fresh legs in \[the White house\]. I think that it refreshes our democracy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-good-to-get-fresh-legs-in-the-white-house-i-think-that-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/believe-it-or-not-entertainment-is-part-of-our-american-diplomacy-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Explore all 3,624 Barack Obama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy. And what I also know, because I handle a lot of classified information, is that there's classified and then there's classified. There's stuff that is really top secret top secret, and there's stuff that is being presented to the president or the secretary of state that you might not want on the transom or, you know, going out over the wire, but is basically stuff that you could get in open source.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barack Obama" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secretary-of-state-she-would-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secretary-of-state-she-would-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/barack-obama-17_america_hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secre_1249263.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary of state. She would never intentionally put America in any kind…” — Barack Obama", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barack Obama", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hillary Clinton was an outstanding secretary...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secretary-of-state-she-would-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hillary-clinton-was-an-outstanding-secretary-of-state-she-would-never/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```