As president, I’m committed to making Washington work better and rebuilding the trust of the people who sent us here.

All you have in business is your reputation – so it’s very important that you keep your word.

You know I vowed when I became President not to talk about the loneliest toughest job in the world and I didn’t.

I’ve rarely kept my distance from kind of – I don’t know if we can call it politics, but kind of, civic engagement and that kind of thing, except I tended to think, ‚Well, do it yourself before you start telling other people what they should be doing.‘

Capitalism has worked very well. Anyone who wants to move to North Korea is welcome.

Every night on the court I give my all, and if I’m not giving 100 percent, I criticize myself.

I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don’t trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it.

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.

I became an actress because my mom wanted me to become an actress. It took me until my mid-30s to realize I actually didn’t. I actually wanted to write and direct and be more involved in politics and humanitarian issues.

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.

For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein’s regime is a better and safer place.

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.

Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us.

Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you. It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection.

Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.

Marriage is this grand madness, and I think if people knew that, they would perhaps take it more seriously.

We need someone with superb judgement in their own right because, yes, a president can hire the best advisors on Earth, but I guarantee you this: Five advisors will give five different opinions. And it is the president – and the president alone – who always makes the final call.

A specter is haunting Europe – the specter of communism.

For the record, our democracy is revered around the world. And free elections are the best way on Earth to choose our leaders. This is how we elected John F. Kennedy; Ronald Reagan; two George Bushes; Bill Clinton; and Barack Obama. It has worked for decades.

‚Bombing Afghanistan back into the Stone Age‘ was quite a favourite headline for some wobbly liberals. The slogan does all the work. But an instant’s thought shows that Afghanistan is being, if anything, bombed out of the Stone Age.

I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.

So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.

Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.

Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.

Proud 2 Pay – that’s something that distinguishes me, that’s something that defines me, and we’re going to keep that going.

All my authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.

Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead – they call us.

Even people on the liberal side are starting to worry about going off a fiscal cliff.

I trust Russia and China and Iran and North Korea like I trust a Jussie Smollett police report.

We’ve switched from a culture that was interested in manufacturing, economics, politics – trying to play a serious part in the world – to a culture that’s really entertainment-based.

As president, Reagan worked very well with Democrats to do big things. It is true that he worked to reduce the size of government and cut federal taxes and he eliminated many regulations, but he also raised taxes when necessary.

The press is the hired agent of a monied system, and set up for no other purpose than to tell lies where their interests are involved. One can trust nobody and nothing.

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.

Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together.

I am neither bitter nor cynical but I do wish there was less immaturity in political thinking.

Some people will have to be afraid. Those who plunder the nation, deliver injustice, will have to feel scared of me. And I am not afraid of admitting this. Government cannot be so lenient that it forgives them.

In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.

It’s been my experience in politics that you can try and plan it out: ‚I’m going to hit the three ball which will hit the eight ball.‘ You’ve just got to go run and try to do everything right. And then have a little luck.

Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government too.

Better to be occasionally cheated than perpetually suspicious.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

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

To govern means to pillage, as everyone knows.

A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern. But what is the best that we can offer to those who govern? Prayer!

When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‚We did it ourselves.‘

In various countries and times, leaders of groups that lagged behind, economically and educationally, have taught their followers to blame all their problems on other people – and to hate those other people.

If… many influential people have failed to understand, or have just forgotten, what we were up against in the Cold War and how we overcame it, they are not going to be capable of securing, let alone enlarging, the gains that liberty has made.

People often think I’m a faker, but I’m usually honest, in a certain way – in such a way that often nobody believes me!

The great thieves lead away the little thief.

To do anything to a high level, it has to be total obsession.

Too many Christians live their lives like slaves – to the devil – because they believe his lies more than they trust God.

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

God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them.

Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven.

Democracy passes into despotism.

Mature love is composed and sustaining; a celebration of commitment, companionship, and trust.

When people say ‚marriage‘ to me… It’s always a means to an end. Everyone’s so in a rush to define the relationship.

I was honoured when they asked me to appear at the president’s birthday rally in Madison Square Garden. There was like a hush over the whole place when I came on to sing ‚Happy Birthday,‘ like if I had been wearing a slip, I would have thought it was showing or something. I thought, ‚Oh, my gosh, what if no sound comes out!‘

A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman.