The last thing I wanted to do was to be a wartime President.

We should all be obliged to appear before a board every five years and justify our existence… on pain of liquidation.

Every President I think I’ve ever known, except Truman, has thought they didn’t quite get done what they wanted done. And toward the end of their Administrations, they were disappointed and wished they had done some things differently.

Do you realize the responsibility I carry? I’m the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House.

Trust your instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.

Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.

I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.

I’m for women choosing whatever they want to do but they have to really know what they are doing.

International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn’t pay his protection money. You have to have obedience; otherwise, the idea can spread that you don’t have to listen to the orders, and it can spread to important places.

Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.

I never knew whether to pity or congratulate a man on coming to his senses.

Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.

It is difficult for the common good to prevail against the intense concentration of those who have a special interest, especially if the decisions are made behind locked doors.

All ideologies are idiotic, whether religious or political, for it is conceptual thinking, the conceptual word, which has so unfortunately divided man.

When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.

A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.

Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.

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.

You know I vowed when I became President not to talk about the loneliest toughest job in the world and I didn’t.

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

Governments are not representative. They have their own power, serving segments of the population that are dominant and rich.

Treat your children like the blessings they are or don’t have them at all.

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right.

Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.

It’s time to stop thinking of the Republican Party as an exclusive club where your ideological card is checked at the door, and start thinking about how we can attract more solution-based leaders like Nathan Fletcher and Anthony Adams.

Some say we should not engage in activism. Instead we should leave everything to our politicians and just vote for a change instead. But what do we do when there is no political will? What do we do when the politics needed are nowhere in sight?

Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.

Sometimes we be playing the politics too much and forget who we are just to win.

Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

I’m a religious woman. And I feel I have responsibility. I have no modesty at all. I’m even afraid of it – it’s a learned affectation and it’s just stuck on me like decals. Now I pray for humility because that comes from inside out.

If the American people don’t love me, their descendants will.

The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.

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 cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else – I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.

There might be some serious fun in politics.

When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, ‚What sign do I want to give to God?‘ That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear.

Don’t wait for the last judgment – it takes place every day.

There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.

The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.

I don’t want to spend money the club doesn’t have; I don’t want to hold a player that doesn’t want to stay.

I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as ‚us‘ and ‚them‘ – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above… he knows that we all love our country… and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas… he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

It is difficult to violently suppress people in the long run, as the example of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries has shown.

A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.

People make a big fuss over you when you’re President. But I’m very serious about doing everything I can to make sure that it doesn’t go to my head.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.

I don’t know what’s better gettin‘ laid or gettin‘ paid.

The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.

Yup, the whole birther movement was racist.

Look, when you’re the president, there’s all kinds of things said about us. I mean, it’s just the nature of the job.

Imagination decides everything.

I didn’t want to submit to the army and then, on the day of judgment, have God say to me, ‚Why did you do that?‘ This life is a trial, and you realize that what you do is going to be written down for Judgment Day.

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost.

I don’t want to express my opinion about actual politics, because if I do, I have to be responsible for my decision.

Self-centered leaders manipulate when they move people for personal benefit. Mature leaders motivate by moving people for mutual benefit.

A reactionary is a somnambulist walking backwards.

Winning the election is a good-news, bad-news kind of thing. Okay, now you’re the mayor. The bad news is, now you’re the mayor.

A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts.

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.

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.