The CIA is made up of boys whose families sent them to Princeton but wouldn’t let them into the family brokerage business.

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

Artists have a responsibility to speak and to act when governments fail, and if we don’t do that, we really deserve the world we get.

I was kind of secretly hoping one of my kids would go out and make a million bucks. So when they put me in a home, at least I’ll have a window with a view.

Most members of Congress are politicians. They’re bores.

It’s very difficult for the American people to believe that our government, one of the richest on Earth, is also one of the stingiest on Earth.

As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know that the men and women of our intelligence community put their lives on the line every day, and they do very dangerous work to keep our country safe.

Humanity I love you because when you’re hard up you pawn your intelligence to buy a drink.

It is with your aid, as the people, that I think we shall be able to preserve – not the country, for the country will preserve itself, but the institutions of the country – those institutions which have made us free, intelligent and happy – the most free, the most intelligent, and the happiest people on the globe.

I grew up around lots of men – my father, my brothers, my uncles – so I wasn’t intimidated by them.

I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar.

You have to be smart. The easy days are over.

Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.

No government can help the destinies of people who insist in putting sectional and class consciousness ahead of general weal.

Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they’re already asleep.

All government, of course, is against liberty.

The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to an uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government.

Family home evening is more for the purpose of teaching values and gospel principles, displaying talents and enjoying different kinds of family fun and activities.

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.

I have often thought that if a rational Fascist dictatorship were to exist, then it would choose the American system.

The biggest problem that we have is that California is being run now by special interests. All of the politicians are not anymore making the moves for the people, but for special interests and we have to stop that.

But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I’m upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.

Marriage is a school itself. Also, having children. Becoming a father changed my whole life. It taught me as if by revelation.

When I was nine years old, living on the south side of Chicago, my father was a minister and my mother used to scrub floors. I had seven brothers and four sisters. I told my mama, ‚One of these days I’m going to be big and strong and buy you a beautiful house.‘ That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life, is to take care of my mother.

What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?

The ideal death, I think, is what was the ideal Victorian death, you know, with your grandchildren around you, a bit of sobbing. And you say goodbye to your loved ones, making certain that one of them has been left behind to look after the shop.

You know, my sister sings, my brother plays drums in my band. My whole family is a bunch of musicians.

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

I used to carry my father’s Bible and put it on the pulpit so he could preach.

I refuse to feel guilty. I feel guilty about too much in my life but not about money. I went through periods when I had nothing, so somebody in my family has to get stinkin‘ wealthy.

Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.

When we talk about mortality, we are talking about our children.

All men are children, and of one family. The same tale sends them all to bed, and wakes them in the morning.

Like every parent, when you start your family, your life completely changes. And you completely live for someone else. I find that the most extraordinary thing. Your life is handed over to someone else. From that moment on, they come first in every choice you make. It’s the most wonderful thing.

So far as the government is concerned, there is only one holy book, which is the constitution of India. My government will not tolerate or accept any discrimination based on caste, creed and religion.

How do you know what it’s like to be stupid if you’ve never been smart?

People are getting smarter nowadays; they are letting lawyers, instead of their conscience, be their guide.

Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.

My parents were the same in the pulpit as they were at home. I think that’s where a lot of preachers‘ kids get off base sometimes. Because they don’t see the same things at both places.

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

Michelle and I don’t want anyone telling us who our family’s doctor should be – and no one should decide that for you either. Under our proposals, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your current insurance, you keep that insurance. Period, end of story.

All the learnin‘ my father paid for was a bit o‘ birch at one end and an alphabet at the other.

Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate the love of God and family and to create memories that will last forever. Jesus is God’s perfect, indescribable gift. The amazing thing is that not only are we able to receive this gift, but we are able to share it with others on Christmas and every other day of the year.

I’m attracted to women who are smart and funny and ambitious and have lives of their own and great families. Isn’t that what attracts anyone?

Having a child, that’s always been my biggest fear. I want a child and I fear a child.

Ah! yes, I know: those who see me rarely trust my word: I must look too intelligent to keep it.

I don’t write policy for my government.

I’m in awe of the universe, but I don’t necessarily believe there’s an intelligence or agent behind it. I do have a passion for the visual in religious rituals, though, even though they may be completely empty and bereft of substance.

I cannot remember a moment in my life when I have not felt the love of my family. We were a family that would have killed for each other – and we still are.

Good governance with good intentions is the hallmark of our government. Implementation with integrity is our core passion.

It’s not proper for the government to intrude too thoroughly into the domain of the family. It’s inappropriate.

When I was a kid, I never thought much about football. I thought about following in my family’s footsteps and going into professional wrestling.

I found this national debt, doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me as I stepped into the Oval Office.

In search of my mother’s garden, I found my own.

The kids are a big part of my schedule.

Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

When I came to Delhi and noticed an insider view, I felt what it was, and I was surprised to see it. It seemed as if dozens of separate governments are running at the same time in one main government. It appeared that everyone has its own fiefdom.

We must have government that builds stamina into communities and men. That makes men instead of mendicants.

A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who’s been dead for 15 years.

For me, often, there’s such a cloud of melancholia about knowing I’m going to have to leave my daughter on her own. I don’t know what age that is going to be, thank God. It just doubles me up in grief.

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.