10 Questions for James Baker

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You recently learned that your family has a large African-American wing. I was very emotionally touched to discover that. I went to speak at the installation of a historical marker at my great-grandfather's grave--he's buried near Sam Houston--and this guy walks up to me and says, "Sir, my name is James Baker." You've got to go a long way back--to great-great-grandfather--to have a common ancestor, but it was really interesting. These are really wonderful people. We went to a big reunion and had a wonderful time. And we're going again.

You're one of the very few people to have held three Cabinet-level posts--Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary and White House chief of staff. Which job was best? I often say, "Boy, was I lucky to be Secretary of State in that period of time." Communism collapsed. The cold war ended. All of our lives changed. Everybody in the world--except for North Korea, Cuba and maybe a few others--wanted to get close to the U.S. Our relationships with the rest of the world were very, very good.

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