Somehow I won. That took me on the most incredible adventure, because I found out where all the states were. I thought I was de Tocqueville, going through America and observing this stuff. After that I became assistant secretary of state. Then C.P.B. That’s the life. So we did it. And now … taxi!

Let’s slow down a little. Why were you concerned about the Republican Party at the time?

I wanted to get more women and more minorities in office. I really wanted to see women step up to the plate and have more power on a lot of different levels, not just politically. We knew we had a base of women small-business owners who were concerned about taxes and trying to grow their business at the same time.

Are you still concerned about the Republican Party?

Well, now we all are concerned about it. Now it’s beyond concern. Now we’re in triage.

What did you do as assistant secretary of state?

A lot of foreign services officers reported to me — civil servants, ambassadors. The whole purpose of the bureau was to manage about 35,000 professional, cultural and educational exchanges a year, from students to people that were going to be eventually running their countries. The mantra of the bureau was to increase mutual understanding. But I changed that. I said: “You don’t need to understand me. You need to respect me.” To increase mutual understanding, I have to win respect.

And it was amazing to work for Colin Powell, who is still a mentor. He cared about the people at the State Department at all different levels. Everything he did, I had him under a magnifying glass, and I incorporated some of the things I learned when I got to C.P.B.

Can you give me an example?

Every morning, Secretary Powell would have a meeting with the assistant secretaries and then the higher-level under secretaries at 8 a.m. Not 8:01. Eight a.m. He would go around the room to hear from everyone, and you could pass, but you better not pass twice in one week.

When I got to C.P.B., I realized I needed people who I would meet with every single day and take the temperature. “What’s the big challenge today? What are we doing about it?”