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

Politics is such a torment that I advise everyone I love not to mix with it.

I despise people who go to the gutter on either the right or the left and hurl rocks at those in the center.

When I look at public opinion, I’m not far out of the mainstream. I’m in it, in many respects. In some respects, public opinion goes beyond anything I’ve ever said.

Government’s first duty and highest obligation is public safety.

We’re a diverse society, and I think the TV is doing a great job in showing that we’re all human beings, that we can all get along, that we can all be together, and I think that’s a marvelous thing.

There is probably a perverse pride in my administration… that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular. And I think anybody who’s occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can’t be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.

Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.

A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable.

George Bush made a mistake when he referred to the Saddam Hussein regime as ‚evil.‘ Every liberal and leftist knows how to titter at such black-and-white moral absolutism.

This administration is going to be cussed and discussed for years to come.

Everybody is entertained to death.

So while an incredible amount of progress has been made, on this fifth anniversary, I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: My administration is going to stand with you – and fight alongside you – until the job is done. Until New Orleans is all the way back, all the way.

We’re not a fragile people. We’re not a frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don’t look to be ruled.

Since the team understands that the leader is de facto in charge, in that respect, a leader has nothing to prove. But in another respect, a leader has everything to prove: Every member of the team must develop the trust and confidence that their leader will exercise good judgment, remain calm, and make the right decisions when it matters most.

It’s amazing, the culture Coach Belichick has been able to create in our system.

If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction.

I would not vote for the mayor. It’s not just because he didn’t invite me to dinner, but because on my way into town from the airport there were such enormous potholes.

Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

Silence speaks so much louder than screaming tantrums. Never give anyone an excuse to say that you’re crazy.

The world is a republic of mediocrities, and always was.

If I made a commitment, I stood by that commitment – and try to make it real. Because when you become leaders, the most important thing you have is your word, your trust. That’s where respect comes from.

It’s very difficult to regulate yourself, and if you learn to do that, well, it starts to spill over.

Modern education has devoted itself to the teaching of impudence, and then we complain that we can no longer control our mobs.

You want me to own a team and deal with these rich, spoiled stubborn athletes, and try to get them to perform? No thank you.

I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman – not me, not Bill, nobody – more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.

Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.

The intersection of law, politics, and technology is going to force a lot of good thinking.

A politician needs 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.

I have a reputation for taking on governors a lot more powerful than me.

I often say of George Washington that he was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power.

The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‚We did it ourselves.‘

When the burdens of the presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself it could be worse. I could be a mayor.

What we call Man’s power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument.

Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile.

Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate, now what’s going to happen to us with both a House and a Senate?

Men’s actions are too strong for them. Show me a man who has acted, and who has not been the victim and slave of his action.

To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.

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

Well, I have great respect for Senator Hirono.

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

People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I earned everything I’ve got.

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.

This is a wonderful planet, and it is being completely destroyed by people who have too much money and power and no empathy.

I’ve never fought with anyone. A lot of people talk to me, and they’re like, ‚Oh, you would have been fighting all the time when you were younger,‘ but I’m like, ‚I never fought with anyone because I always knew that if I hurt myself, I might lose important time in my cricket career,‘ so I never got into any fight, ever in my life.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

All the political angst and moral melodrama about getting ‚the rich‘ to pay ‚their fair share‘ is part of a big charade. This is not about economics, it is about politics.

One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is ‚to be prepared‘.

My music fights against the system that teaches to live and die.

I want a president who will teach our children that everyone in this country matters, a president who truly believes in the vision that our Founders put forth all those years ago that we are all created equal, each a beloved part of the great American story.

Obamacare sucks, it can’t be fixed.

I have no delusions about my likability in every scenario. I know that in order to get things done the way you want them, oftentimes your position will be unpopular.

Capitalism is using its money; we socialists throw it away.

When you’re around the kids, you feel like you act the most grown up just because you’re supposed to lead. I say things, like every other parent, that reminds you of your own parents. One thing I do know about being a parent, you understand why your father was in a bad mood a lot.

My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative. I have never been a right-winger. It was my authoritarian way of making decisions that created problems.

I will keep America moving forward, always forward, for a better America, for an endless enduring dream and a thousand Points of Light. This is my mission, and I will complete it.

But do I think that our actions in anyway violate the War Powers Resolution, the answer is no.

A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.