No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. But when Governor Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy – well, you do the math. I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I’m President, I never will.

Facts are not liberals‘ strong suit. Rhetoric is.

Democracy is not static. It is a living force. Every new idea, every new invention offers opportunity for both good and evil.

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

Optimism comes less easily today, not because democracy is less vigorous, but because democracy’s enemies have refined their instruments of repression.

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

You’ve got to watch the politics of AIDS. The politics of AIDS can work both for and against the victims of AIDS.

The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.

An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.

I got no quarrel with them Vietcong.

There will be no whitewash in the White House.

I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African American.

It’s not just a matter of whether you support Obama or Romney. It’s who they have coming with them. I always keep my powder dry, as they say in the military.

For a sitting U.S. president to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts.

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.

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

The right honourable gentleman caught the Whigs bathing, and walked away with their clothes. He has left them in the full enjoyment of their liberal positions, and he is himself a strict conservative of their garments.

There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down. When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I’ll just put the stool out there and I’ll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn’t keep all of the promises he made to everybody.

From my intimate discussions with President Obama, it is evident that India figures significantly in American geo-political, economic and strategic thinking. India is the largest democracy in the world.

I am not a crook.

There’s some jerks. There’s some big egos. There are a few that think they’re one of the Founding Fathers… in both parties.

You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait till I whup George Foreman’s behind.

My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

The truth of the matter is that Iran is a cancer.

Before I went to jail, I was active in politics as a member of South Africa’s leading organization – and I was generally busy from 7 A.M. until midnight. I never had time to sit and think.

The difference between a Republican and a Democrat is the Democrat is a cannibal they have to live off each other, while the Republicans, why, they live off the Democrats.

In a democracy, in a functioning democracy, what would be happening is that popular organizations, unions, political groupings, others would be developing their programs, putting them forth, insisting that their representatives implement those programs.

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

I have been very happy in the House of Representatives.

I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for President, who happens also to be a Catholic.

Every time I hear a politician mention the word ‚stimulus,‘ my mind flashes back to high school biology class, when I touched battery wires to a dead frog to make it twitch.

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.

Politics is just a function of business now, just a tributary of the great entrepreneurial capitalist system.

In Republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.

Politics and the pulpit are terms that have little agreement.

The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don’t have to waste your time voting.

I would remind you the lesser of two socialists is still a socialist.

In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake.

When you work as a humanitarian, you are conscious that politics have to be considered. Because if you really want to make an extreme change, then you have a responsibility.

Running for office is similar to being a trial lawyer in a very long trial. It requires adrenaline and stamina; it requires being in shape mentally and emotionally. It’s a marathon.

I would rather drink weedkiller than support Obamacare.

I am a Christian and a Democrat, that’s all.

The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

A man without a vote is man without protection.

I do have a political agenda. It’s to have as few regulations as possible.

I think that people are tired. They’re tired of the same old kind of politics. People want a new tone to politics.

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.

Concentration of executive power, unless it’s very temporary and for specific circumstances, let’s say fighting world war two, it’s an assault on democracy.

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

Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by Jackasses.

But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you’ve got to compromise. You’ve got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.

Germany has reduced savagery to a science, and this great war for the victorious peace of justice must go on until the German cancer is cut clean out of the world body.

Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.

Liberals are not always so liberal with people who disapprove – disapprove of their point of view.

On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does.

Trump just looks stupid trying to appeal to blacks and Latinos.

Lincoln said you cannot be President without spending some item on your knees. I have repeated that and a bunch of Atheists got all over me. Wait a minute. Does that mean that you cannot be President if you are an Atheist? I say yea that does mean that.

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

Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.

Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America. That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people.