I think Clinton, after getting into office and into Washington, was shocked at being bludgeoned. So he spent time trying to be all things to all people – one way guaranteed not to be successful or respected in a lion’s den. You can’t just play around with all those big cats – you’ve got to take somebody on.

Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey ‚people.‘ People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war… Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest.

You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

We’re not going to go 82-0 and blow everybody out. We are going to be challenged.

America is just downright mean.

Even to observe neutrality you must have a strong government.

You have to motivate yourself with challenges. That’s how you know you’re still alive.

The Iranian government is undoubtedly a severe danger to its own population, but not beyond that.

You’ve all seen over the last eight years what President Obama means to this country. He is the embodiment of honor, resolve, and character – one of the finest presidents we have ever had.

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.

I have decided in 2020 to run for president.

I know what it feels like to struggle to get the education that you need.

There is little success where there is little laughter.

A lot has happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war, and it’s been tested by recession and all manner of challenges – I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your president, to tell you I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before.

Many people, including some conservatives, have been very impressed with how brainy the president and his advisers are. But that is not quite as reassuring as it might seem.

Once you appreciate one of your blessings, one of your senses, your sense of hearing, then you begin to respect the sense of seeing and touching and tasting, you learn to respect all the senses.

Real politics are the possession and distribution of power.

Commodities such as gold and silver have a world market that transcends national borders, politics, religions, and race. A person may not like someone else’s religion, but he’ll accept his gold.

A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it.

Let the path be open to talent.

Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world.

All people are born alike – except Republicans and Democrats.

To summarize, draft resistance can make use of the inegalitarian nature of American society as a technique for increasing the cost of American aggression, and it threatens values that are important to those in a decision-making position.

I don’t want to express my opinion about actual politics, because if I do, I have to be responsible for my decision.

Honor means that a man is not exceptional; fame, that he is. Fame is something which must be won; honor, only something which must not be lost.

Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle.

I think with the Romans, that the general of today should be a soldier tomorrow if necessary.

We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges.

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.

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

I think when smallpox was eliminated, the whole world got pretty excited about that because it’s just such a dramatic success.

A President’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.

Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

I bought a gun and chose drugs instead.

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

When Rumsfeld gets up on television and says we have definitive intelligence that al Qaeda is working with Iraq, how is an ordinary citizen supposed to react? They won’t tell you the evidence, and when anyone asks, they say, ‚Well, you know: It’s secret.‘

In matters of truth the fact that you don’t want to publish something is, nine times out of ten, a proof that you ought to publish it.

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.

Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.

The 1928 Republican Convention opened with a prayer. If the Lord can see His way clear to bless the Republican Party the way it’s been carrying on, then the rest of us ought to get it without even asking.

I think we understand that for the Court to work well, we have to not only respect but genuinely like each other.

Louis van Gaal is one of the most successful managers in the world.

It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.

There is no distinctly American criminal class – except Congress.

I love the name of honor, more than I fear death.

When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.

It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.

Courage is a mean with regard to fear and confidence.

Conservatism discards Prescription, shrinks from Principle, disavows Progress; having rejected all respect for antiquity, it offers no redress for the present, and makes no preparation for the future.

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.

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

Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.

Some years ago I became president of Columbia University and learned within 24 hours to be ready to speak at the drop of a hat, and I learned something more, the trustees were expected to be ready to speak at the passing of the hat.

Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.

I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we – we own this country. We – we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

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

Being elected to Congress, though I am very grateful to our friends for having done it, has not pleased me as much as I expected.

It’s a common misconception that money is every entrepreneur’s metric for success. It’s not, and nor should it be.

No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.