Presidential Quotes

An honest public servant can't become rich in politics. He can only attain greatness and satisfaction by service.

Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.

Decisions made in Washington are more important to us than those made here in Dar es-Salaam. So, maybe my people should be allowed to vote in American presidential elections.

This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.

Crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant.

We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.

But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'

We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.

I have always done my duty. I am ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me.

I am not fit for this office and should never have been here.

He "wasn't used to being criticized, and he never did get it through his head that's what politics is all about. He was used to getting his ass kissed."

Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality.

I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free.

There is nothing left to do but get drunk.

Freedom of conscience, of education, of speech, of assembly are among the very fundamentals of democracy and all of them would be nullified should freedom of the press ever be successfully challenged.

While men inhabiting different parts of this vast continent cannot be expected to hold the same opinions, they can unite in a common objective and sustain common principles.

May God save the country, for it is evident that the people will not.

The emigrants although of different parties and different religious sects all flew from persecution in pursuit of liberty.

That's all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history.

It is not strange... to mistake change for progress.

The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals.

In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest.

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.

All great change in America begins at the dinner table.

Working on your biceps? Try chopping down a cherry tree.

A government of laws, and not of men.

Defeat doesn't finish a man, quit does. A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits.

The United States have adventured upon a great and noble experiment, which is believed to have been hazarded in the absence of all previous precedent - that of total separation of Church and State. No religious establishment by law exists among us. The conscience is left free from all restraint and each is permitted to worship his Maker after his own judgement.

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.

Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.

You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.

War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.

America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.

Religious and racial persecution is moronic at all times, perhaps the most idiotic of human stupidities.

The less government interferes with private pursuits, the better for general prosperity.

I don't know much about Americanism, but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election.

If it were not for the reporters, I would tell you the truth.

The path of progress is seldom smooth. New things are often found hard to do. Our fathers found them so. We find them so. But are we not made better for the effort and scarifice?

The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men.

I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.

Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion.

Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.

I did not have sexual relations with that woman

God knows that I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil, for which we are not responsible, and we must endure it, till we can get rid of it without destroying the last hope of free government in the world.

Must swear off from swearing. Bad habit.

We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.

Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business.