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.

I had never been in charge of anything. I’d always worked for someone. I worked for a furniture warehouse. I did masonry. I always had a boss yelling at me. So I’d never been in charge of an organization.

One of the great strengths of the United States is… we have a very large Christian population – we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.

It’s like a muscle – if you stop going to the gym or stop running, you get weak. The military teaches you these great values, but we don’t keep up the discipline on our own, and we lose it. So wherever you go, keep that discipline up.

I think our politicians could learn a lot from Mandela.

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.

A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today – and in fact we have forgotten.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another.

I think one of the basic reasons men make good friends is that they can make up their minds quickly.

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.

The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.

The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.

When the President does it, that means that it’s not illegal.

When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.

If you call yourself a leader, then you have to be decisive. If you’re decisive, then you have the chance to be a leader. These are two sides to the same coin.

In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage.

I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end… I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.

To govern means to pillage, as everyone knows.

I shall never be a heretic; I may err in dispute, but I do not wish to decide anything finally; on the other hand, I am not bound by the opinions of men.

One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves.

Our schools and colleges are turning out people who cannot feel fulfilled unless they are telling other people what to do.

There are people who are really good managers, people who can manage a big organization, and then there are people who are very analytic or focused on strategy. Those two types don’t usually tend to be in the same person. I would put myself much more in the latter camp.

One of the more difficult tasks for me as president was to decide on the issue of confirming capital punishment awarded by courts… to my surprise… almost all cases which were pending had a social and economic bias.

I’ve turned down shows offering large amounts of money.

President Obama seems completely unaware of how many of the policies he is trying to impose have been tried before, in many times and places around the world, and have failed time and again.

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.

No one can give you better advice than yourself.

I just hate meetings. Though it’s true that once you’ve made a lot of money, people around you might be full of ideas about ways to make lots more money and might be disappointed that you don’t want to seize every opportunity to do so.

Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.

Everything I’ve been thinking, every vision, even down to every shot I throw, it just ends up here in reality. Whether it was in a fight and how to react or whether it was in a stadium with screaming fans or whether I was in a fancy car or the best clothes ever, I always put myself somewhere.

For me every ruler is alien that defies public opinion.

Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.

Only a man’s character is the real criterion of worth.

As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.

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.

‚Tis better to bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not of.

Your philosophy determines whether you will go for the disciplines or continue the errors.

I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.

Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief.

Most of us experience a life full of wonderful moments and difficult moments. But for many of us, even when we are most joyful, there is fear behind our joy.

In any decision for action, when you have to make up your mind what to do, there is always a ‚should‘ involved, and this cannot be worked out from, ‚If I do this, what will happen?‘ alone.

Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them.

When you are president, being able to clearly articulate detailed plans to help the people of this country is a good thing. Knowing what you’re doing is a good thing. And let me tell you, Hillary Clinton absolutely knows what she’s doing.

When you’re not engaged in the day-to-day struggles that everybody feels, you slowly start losing touch. And I think it’s important for the people in the White House to have a finger on the pulse.

The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice.

I do not think I could myself be brought to support a man for office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion.

The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.

At one point he decided enough was enough.

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.

In doubtful cases the more liberal interpretation must always be preferred.

I think it makes sense to believe in God, but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don’t know.

There’s no political point worth my son’s life.

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.

I wonder how many decisions we make every day. I believe it’s probably hundreds. We decide whether or not to get out of bed, what we’ll eat, what we’ll do, what we’ll think about, what we’ll say… and on and on.

A public man must never forget that he loses his usefulness when he as an individual, rather than his policy, becomes the issue.

I have decided in 2020 to run for president.

The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.