It is a vain hope to make people happy by politics.

That fatal drollery called a representative government.

Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate that either the Democratic or Republican party has produced at least since I’ve been around. He’s fresh, he’s new, he’s insightful.

I have been ever of opinion that revolutions are not to be evaded.

Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.

Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

Politics is a profession; a serious, complicated and, in its true sense, a noble one.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

I like the city. I like the concrete. I like big business. I like being a CEO of my own company and having a lot of responsibilities. At the same time, when I can go off with a backpack or off on a surfboard or even off on a run somewhere in the woods – that’s where I’m really happy.

It is not possible for civilization to flow backwards while there is youth in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance it allotted length.

Happy the people whose annals are vacant.

Life is better when people are working, happy, and spending money.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?

The word ‚happy‘ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.

Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.

If… many influential people have failed to understand, or have just forgotten, what we were up against in the Cold War and how we overcame it, they are not going to be capable of securing, let alone enlarging, the gains that liberty has made.

The very word ‚secrecy‘ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

A lot of people have a sense-of-entitlement mentality that somebody else ought to do these things for them. People are mad at the government for not getting jobs for them. I don’t understand why it’s the government’s responsibility.

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both had exceptional natural abilities. Nelson Rockefeller was very good statewide but never gained national traction.

There are still people in my party who believe in consensus politics. I regard them as Quislings, as traitors… I mean it.

The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.

The first duty of government is to see that people have food, fuel, and clothes. The second, that they have means of moral and intellectual education.

Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.

As your career grows, the list of things that makes you happy should not become smaller, it should become bigger.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

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

In war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times.

Excessive literary production is a social offense.

And I think it’s that time. And I think if you just step aside and Mr. Romney can kind of take over. You can maybe still use a plane. Though maybe a smaller one. Not that big gas guzzler you are going around to colleges and talking about student loans and stuff like that.

You can be happy where you are.

Any lady who is first lady likes being first lady. I don’t care what they say, they like it.

I think that both parties should declare the debt limit as a political weapon of mass destruction which can’t be used. I mean, it is silly to have a country that has 237 years building up its reputation and then have people threaten to tear it down because they’re not getting some other matter.

People are finding it harder and harder to relate to foreign policy.

We’re constantly striving for success, fame and comfort when all we really need to be happy is someone or some thing to be enthusiastic about.

If you’re looking for the safe choice, you shouldn’t be supporting a black guy named Barack Obama to be the next leader of the free world.

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.

For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction.

On every front there are clear answers out there that can make this country stronger, but we’re going to break through the fear and the frustration people are feeling. Our job is to make sure that even as we make progress, that we are also giving people a sense of hope and vision for the future.

Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.

Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling; it never forgives preaching of a new gospel.

Life guided me to being a bodyguard, protecting people, then in the movies, so I’m happy with everything because basically all I ever wanted to do was be a good son and take care of my mother.

Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow. Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone.

A reactionary is a somnambulist walking backwards.

The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another’s keeping .

Do not give in too much to feelings. A overly sensitive heart is an unhappy possession on this shaky earth.

No part of the education of a politician is more indispensable than the fighting of elections.

John F. Kennedy was the victim of the hate that was a part of our country. It is a disease that occupies the minds of the few but brings danger to the many.

In today’s world, having money has allowed people who are extremely uncool to think that they’re cool and carry it like that. People who really are cool and people who really are artists and have ideas have to literally turn in their cool card to society just to make it past the age of 28.

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

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

‚Hope and change‘ has become a cliche in our nation, and it is daunting to think that any American could hope for change from what God has blessed.

It’s not always been a happy marriage. I guess I wanted a quick fix.

Beauty is the promise of happiness.

I haven’t had that one great love, which is good. I don’t want that to be in the past – I want it to be in the future.

Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy.

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.

The United States tyrannizes and pillages the globalized world with its political, economic, technological, and military might.

If you know how to read, you have a complete education about life, then you know how to vote within a democracy. But if you don’t know how to read, you don’t know how to decide. That’s the great thing about our country – we’re a democracy of readers, and we should keep it that way.

First and foremost comes my family and my life with Brad. We have so much joy in raising our children and teaching them about the world that nothing really compares to that.

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.