In order to rally people, governments need enemies… if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us.

The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination.

In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution.

King Louis Philippe once said to me that he attributed the great success of the British nation in political life to their talking politics after dinner.

It sure is hell to be president.

The label ‚liberal‘ or ‚conservative,‘ any – every time I hear that, I think of the great Gilbert and Sullivan song from ‚Iolanthe.‘ It goes, ‚Every gal and every boy that’s born alive is either a little liberal or else a little conservative.‘ What do those labels mean? It depends on whose ox is being gored.

I’m going to be so much better a president for having been at the CIA that you’re not going to believe it.

I seldom think of politics more than eighteen hours a day.

Only the aspirants for president are fool enough to believe what they read in the newspapers.

I don’t see the wisdom in modern politicians that I once saw in men like Dean Acheson, David Bruce, or George Marshall. In my day, the northeastern establishment dominated foreign policy formulation, but the composition and distribution of our population is very different today.

Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?

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.

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets.

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.

I do not believe that government should be in the business of telling women what they should do with their bodies.

Most of the problems a President has to face have their roots in the past.

I believe that in every country the people themselves are more peaceably and liberally inclined than their governments.

If we can boondoggle ourselves out of this depression, that word is going to be enshrined in the hearts of the American people for years to come.

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies – or else? The chain reaction of evil – hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars – must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

If you think you can slander a woman into loving you, or a man into voting for you, try it till you are satisfied.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.

I think Canadians are more interested in international events than Americans because it is such a small country, so politics affect it more.

Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.

Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.

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.

With Benghazi, I don’t see anyone saying, ‚Hey look, I am overall responsible for this and therefore, I take responsibility for what happened. It’s my fault.‘ I haven’t heard that yet. Meanwhile, the other side of the coin, the Osama bin Laden raid, it seems everyone made that decision, and that’s just unbelievable to me.

In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?

Let us not listen to those who think we ought to be angry with our enemies, and who believe this to be great and manly. Nothing is so praiseworthy, nothing so clearly shows a great and noble soul, as clemency and readiness to forgive.

In my view of the present aspect of affairs, there is no need of bloodshed and war. There is no necessity for it. I am not in favor of such a course, and I may say in advance, there will be no blood shed unless it be forced upon the government. The government will not use force unless force is used against it.

I always tell people that religious institutions and political institutions should be separate. So while I’m telling people this, I myself continue with them combined. Hypocrisy!

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.

We need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, period.

In politics stupidity is not a handicap.

No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor politic, and certainly, to a kingdom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise.

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.

Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.

America is just downright mean.

A specter is haunting Europe – the specter of communism.

By 1960, the South Africans knew that they were becoming a pariah state.

I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama.

We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next door neighbour.

Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and social injustice.

Let me even say before I even get inaugurated, during the transition we are going to be having meetings all across the country with community organizations so that you have input into the agenda for the next presidency of the United States of America.

I’m not a big politics guy.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Nobody wants to put the creditworthiness of the United States in jeopardy. Nobody wants to see the United States default. So we’ve got to seize this moment, and we have to seize it soon.

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

Political necessities sometime turn out to be political mistakes.

Yup, the whole birther movement was racist.

War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‚Present‘ or ‚Not guilty.‘

I think Hillary Clinton is a phenomenal woman, and I’ve gotten to know her, and I think she’s made some pretty major contributions over the course of her life.

Even a paranoid can have enemies.

I believe that Catholics involved in politics carry the values of their religion within them, but have the mature awareness and expertise to implement them. The Church will never go beyond its task of expressing and disseminating its values, at least as long as I’m here.

I just didn’t want to get out there anymore; I didn’t want to get back into what I call ‚the swamp.‘ And the other reason why is I don’t think it’s good for the presidency for a former president to be opining about his successor. President Obama’s got plenty of critics – and I’m just not gonna be one.

If I studied all my life, I couldn’t think up half the number of funny things passed in one session of congress.

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

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

Well, when you come down to it, I don’t see that a reporter could do much to a president, do you?

You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.