Lawrence Eagleburger
Outgoing Secretary of State
Age at the Time: 62

Originally published Jan. 13, 2001

I had resigned as Secretary of State because of the new Administration. On Inauguration Day itself, I packed up my office. I didn't think about (the generational change) on that day so much, but it was clearly something that was of concern to me.

I obviously was not in favor of Mr. Clinton, but I remember thinking that it was really too bad he hadn't had any military service. I thought that was a critical aspect of being President. I was worried about the fact that he had not served in the military and had, in fact, avoided Vietnam. I didn't see him as responsible on foreign policy issues.

But again, you have to start with the fact that I'm partisan on this; I had a certain skewed point of view. I do recall thinking at the time that we were moving from a President with great experience to one with very little experience.

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