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

Politically there were failures. And also on the personal level, there were tremendous failures.

I am a grafter.

The mob is the mother of tyrants.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

The Marine Corps is the Navy’s police force and as long as I am President that is what it will remain. They have a propaganda machine that is almost equal to Stalin’s.

The thought of being President frightens me and I do not think I want the job.

It’s time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.

To some extent I happily don’t know what I’m doing. I feel that it’s an artist’s responsibility to trust that.

Especially when you’re at a high level in an organization, criticism can be devastating to an employee. I prefer to praise employees for what they’re doing right, and it tends to lead to them doing more of the same. Not always, but it’s the way I choose to bet.

I’ll never tell a lie. I’ll never make a misleading statement. I’ll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I’ll never avoid a controversial issue.

Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.

In politics nothing is contemptible.

For years my wedding ring has done its job. It has led me not into temptation. It has reminded my husband numerous times at parties that it’s time to go home. It has been a source of relief to a dinner companion. It has been a status symbol in the maternity ward.

Of all the men that have run for president in the twentieth century, only George McGovern truly understood what a monument America could be to the human race.

Political courage is not political suicide.

But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret.

Over the years I’ve learned how to lock myself up in a prison of hope, knowing that God has nothing but His best planned for me. He promised me things concerning my ministry and my life.

I want someone who can trust that my big hands are going to take care of them.

You know, you can only lead them from behind.

Things in our country run in spite of government, not by aid of it.

If people continue to feel like Democrats are looking after poor folks and Republicans are looking after rich folks and nobody is looking after me, then we don’t get a lot of stuff done. And the trend lines evidence the fact that folks have gotten squeezed. And obviously, 2007, 2008 really ripped open for people how vulnerable they were.

I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors.

There’s no difference between one’s killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It’s exactly the same thing, or even worse.

The fact is, with every friendship you make, and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world. That is so important. So when you study abroad, you’re actually helping to make America stronger.

Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.

The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.

People invest in businesses that they believe have the leadership, mission and team to grow and operate profitably.

I try to lead by example, being conscious of others and being responsible.

I don’t even know what the issues are. I haven’t paid attention to politics in a long time. It’s actually not something that I really even enjoy. It’s way off my radar.

Freedom does not die from frontal attack. It dies because men in power no longer believe in a system based upon liberty.

A good model of how to ‚work with the enemy‘ internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.

Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.

Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

I don’t think generally politician come from democratic country. I think not that thinking. But sometimes little bit short-sighted. They are mainly looking for their next vote.

Each party steals so many articles of faith from the other, and the candidates spend so much time making each other’s speeches, that by the time election day is past there is nothing much to do save turn the sitting rascals out and let a new gang in.

The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China. Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history. History is history.

Turkey must find its place if, of course, it can heal its internal sores, and none is more malignant than the perennial Kurdish issue.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You’re trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren’t very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.

If one has the answers to all the questions – that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble.

International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn’t pay his protection money. You have to have obedience; otherwise, the idea can spread that you don’t have to listen to the orders, and it can spread to important places.

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

If I had chosen the populist course, it would have been a breach of the trust placed in me by the people.

God answers prayers, but he doesn’t always answer it your way.

There is no such thing as a lovers‘ oath.

For me every ruler is alien that defies public opinion.

I am called a dog because I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at those who refuse, and I set my teeth in rascals.

Doing nothing while the middle class is hurting. That’s not leadership. Loose regulations and lax enforcement. That’s not leadership. That’s abandoning our middle class.

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.

If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost.

Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

Part of the problem is there are people in Washington, D.C. in positions of power to whom the border is just a nuisance, and I think some of them believe that illegal immigration is a moral good. It is not. It undermines legal immigration.

William Gladstone has not a single redeeming defect.

When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.

I have a fantasy where Ted Turner is elected President but refuses because he doesn’t want to give up power.

A faction willing to take the risks of making war on the ossified status quo in the Middle East can be described as many things, but not as conservative.

My mother had a saying: ‚Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you’re not the last.‘

Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.

The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.