The trouble with Nixon is that he’s a serious politics junkie. He’s totally hooked and like any other junkie, he’s a bummer to have around, especially as President.

I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the President. I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn’t return. I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs.

The idea that putting Americans ‚first‘ requires a withdrawal from the world is simply wrongheaded because a retreat would achieve exactly the opposite for our citizens.

I can move any crowd.

It’d be stupid for me to sit here and say that there aren’t kids who look up to me, but my responsibility is not to them. I’m not a baby sitter.

One of the key qualities a leader must possess is the ability to detach from the chaos, mayhem, and emotions in a situation and make good, clear decisions based on what is actually happening.

A company is a group organized to create a product or service, and it is only as good as its people and how excited they are about creating. I do want to recognize a ton of super-talented people. I just happen to be the face of the companies.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s strongest economy.

The wisest have the most authority.

No other country in the world does what we do. On every issue, the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might – but because of the ideals we stand for, and the burdens we bear to advance them.

I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

I’ve had some ‚riotous excursions of the human spirit‘ alongside the young Sailors and Marines, and it’s time to leave the stage to the young leaders who got their rank the old-fashioned way – they earned their stripes in combat.

Politics is applesauce.

When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise.

One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is ‚to be prepared‘.

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

I think our politicians could learn a lot from Mandela.

So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable.

One of the most pervasive political visions of our time is the vision of liberals as compassionate and conservatives as less caring.

As his vice president for eight years, I learned more from Ronald Reagan than from anyone I encountered in all my years of public life.

Through every victory and every setback, I’ve insisted that change is never easy and never quick; that we wouldn’t meet all of our challenges in one term, or one presidency, or even in one lifetime.

Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself.

If you have embraced a creed which appears to be free from the ordinary dirtiness of politics – a creed from which you yourself cannot expect to draw any material advantage – surely that proves that you are in the right?

I’m no leader; I’m a little humble follower.

When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.

Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the ‚leaders‘ must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibilities.

It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency – that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.

I feel connected to my generation through the music, but I also fear for us. We’re in a very self-destructive state where we’re addicted to outside opinions and we all feel like we have fans.

It is the duty of the President to propose and it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose.

The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.

In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.

I consider myself a moderate Republican. I have very, very moderate social views, and I’m pretty strong on, on defense matters.

When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.

Politics doesn’t make strange bedfellows – marriage does.

Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.

Do you realize the responsibility I carry? I’m the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House.

I don’t want to tell President Obama how to make a speech. He’s a much better speech maker than I am. But I think always to tell the truth in a sometimes blatant way, even though it might be temporarily unpopular, is the best approach.

All impeachments, I guess, are political.

In my heart, I’m confident I could make a good president.

I haven’t been very active in politics.

Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don’t ever apologize for anything.

Being president isn’t anything like reality TV. It’s not about sending insulting tweets or making fiery speeches; it’s about whether or not the candidate can handle the awesome responsibility of leading this country.

I have never really thought that the Left was much in ‚array‘ as far as political purposes were concerned.

I’ve always found, give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers, and I do better with that than I do with torture.

Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.

Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.

Rude people will now & then ask me why I think I know so much about Politics. I tell them it’s because I’m Smart… But that is a lie: The real reason is because I’m an incurable Gambling addict.

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

If you want to reach the top, don’t run over others. Likely, the only way you’ll reach the top is to be carried there by others.

At the bottom of education, at the bottom of politics, even at the bottom of religion, there must be for our race economic independence.

The intersection of law, politics, and technology is going to force a lot of good thinking.

Arafat’s departure has created an awesome opportunity.

Sadly, the truth is, there aren’t many people who can be put in high positions who won’t start thinking highly of themselves.

Chavez, who came out of the ranks of the Venezuelan Army, is methodical and tireless. I have observed him over the course of 17 years, since his first visit to Cuba. He is an extremely humanitarian and law-abiding person; he has never taken revenge on anybody.

At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.

Locally, I’ll vote one way and nationally, maybe another.

This administration is going to be cussed and discussed for years to come.