The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men.

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.

Don’t blame the marketing department. The buck stops with the chief executive.

Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is harmony in the house; when there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation; when there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.

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.

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.

Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.

For success of any mission, it is necessary to have creative leadership. Creative leadership is vital for government, non-governmental organisations as well as for industries.

Money is kind of a base subject. Like water, food, air and housing, it affects everything yet for some reason the world of academics thinks it’s a subject below their social standing.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.

When I was president, I announced and I still maintain that I can live with Roe v. Wade. I did everything I possibly could as president under that ruling, which I don’t think ought to be changed, to minimize the need for abortions. I think every abortion is a result of a horrible series of errors on the part of people involved.

Everything is political. I will never be a politician or even think political. Me just deal with life and nature. That is the greatest thing to me.

Politics and the pulpit are terms that have little agreement.

All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter.

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.

Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.

In every society some men are born to rule, and some to advise.

A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts.

As individuals, people are inherently good. I have a somewhat more pessimistic view of people in groups. And I remain extremely concerned when I see what’s happening in our country, which is in many ways the luckiest place in the world. We don’t seem to be excited about making our country a better place for our kids.

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

Free government is the most difficult of all government. But it is everlastingly true that the plain people will make fewer mistakes than any other group of men, no matter how powerful.

Washington isn’t a city, it’s an abstraction.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.

There is probably a perverse pride in my administration… that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular. And I think anybody who’s occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can’t be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.

Democracy… is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.

And they that rule in England, in stately conclaves met, alas, alas for England they have no graves as yet.

I always tell people that you should only hire people to be on your team if you would work for them.

Colonies do not cease to be colonies because they are independent.

An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.

The world is a republic of mediocrities, and always was.

There is no gambling like politics.

Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenseless people.

Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Government.

I think our democracy has it exactly right: two terms, eight years. It’s enough. Because it’s important to have one foot in reality when you have access to this kind of power.

The advice I’ve been giving to people all my life – that you may not be interested in the dialectic but the dialectic is interested in you; you can’t give up politics, it won’t give you up – was the advice I should have been taking myself.

If you have fear, you are bound by tradition, you follow some leader or guru. When you are bound by tradition, when you are afraid of your husband or your wife, you lose your dignity as an individual human being.

Progressively saved by the machine from the anxieties that bound his hands and mind to material toil, relieved of a large part of his work and compelled to an ever-increasing speed of action by the devices which his intelligence cannot help ceaselessly creating and perfecting, man is about to find himself abruptly plunged into idleness.

I had rather be first in a village than second at Rome.

I began revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.

Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead – they call us.

That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.

The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force.

Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don’t want them to become politicians in the process.

I have been a firm believer in the federal structure of our country as enshrined in the Constitution.

A President cannot always be popular.

Facts are not liberals‘ strong suit. Rhetoric is.

In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. We can’t afford it. And I refuse to renew them again.

No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.

First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change? Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?

The art of government is the organisation of idolatry.

Humanity, you never had it to begin with.

The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

I just use fashion as an excuse to talk about politics. Because I’m a fashion designer, it gives me a voice, which is really good.

He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?

It is unnecessary to say that Fidel Castro possesses the high qualities of a fighter and statesman: our path, our struggle, and our triumph we owed to his vision.