Up until the First World War, when people turned anti-German, Germany had been described by American political scientists as the model of democracy.

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.

The U.S. and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world.

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.

Democracy is a daring concept – a hope that we’ll be best governed if all of us participate in the act of government. It is meant to be a conversation, a place where the intelligence and local knowledge of the electorate sums together to arrive at actions that reflect the participation of the largest possible number of people.

A whole people with the ballot in their hands possess the most conclusive and unlimited power ever entrusted to humanity.

Democracy passes into despotism.

Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Elections should be held on April 16th- the day after we pay our income taxes. That is one of the few things that might discourage politicians from being big spenders.

Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.

While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile.

Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones. Literacy will be dead, and democracy – which many believe goes hand in hand with it – will be dead as well.

I believe the Republicans have never thought that democracy was anything but a tribal myth.

Adultery is the application of democracy to love.

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.

Well the protester I think is a very powerful thing. It’s basically a mechanism of democracy that, along with capitalism, scientific innovation, those things have built the modern world. And it’s wonderful that the new tools have empowered that protestor so that state secrets, bad developments are not hidden anymore.

What I worry about would be that you essentially have two chambers, the House and the Senate, but you have simply, majoritarian, absolute power on either side. And that’s just not what the founders intended.

Democracy as a system has evolved into something that Thomas Jefferson didn’t anticipate.

I had nearly finished school because I was making effort not that bad on that. But there was a law in Germany after the war. You could not make your final examination before 18, so lots of people who were late because of the way had to do it first.

In the 21st century, the countries that thrive will be the ones where citizens know their voices will be heard because the institutions are transparent.

The wind can be quite extreme in England. We are not familiar with that in Germany, and you have to keep things simple.

Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.

The government, whether state or central, is elected. That means we have a responsibility to elect the right kind of leaders.

My parents were of the generation who thought they were the children of a free Czechoslovakia, the only democracy in central Europe.

In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to survival.

We don’t believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans.

The key is to vote because we need a vote to put the people in power that we want to represent us.

I think it’s important to vote.

Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.

Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

I think organized labor is a necessary part of democracy. Organized labor is the only way to have fair distribution of wealth.

Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‚Ich bin ein Berliner!‘

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.

To walk through the ruined cities of Germany is to feel an actual doubt about the continuity of civilization.

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.

To acquire immunity to eloquence is of the utmost importance to the citizens of a democracy.

Even if the politics needed doesn’t exist today, we still need to use our voices to make sure that the people in power are focused on the right things. Because this is a democracy, and in a democracy, people are the ones who run the country.

Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest.

In Germany I have been acknowledged again since the fall of Hitler, but my works, partly suppressed by the Nazis and partly destroyed by the war; have not yet been republished there.

If the people of Utah shall peacefully form a State Constitution tolerating polygamy, will the Democracy admit them into the Union?

Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilization.

The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky – they all turn out in one day.

To give victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary.

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

Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.

Our only real hope for democracy is that we get the money out of politics entirely and establish a system of publicly funded elections.

Economic freedom cannot be sacrificed if political freedom is to be preserved.

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.

Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.

France and Germany have the manufacturing and skill base which is useful to us. France is our dependable strategic partner.

The New Deal repudiation of democracy has left the Republican Party alone the guardian of the Ark of the Covenant with its charter of freedom.

Democracy don’t rule the world, You’d better get that in your head; This world is ruled by violence, But I guess that’s better left unsaid.

Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy.

For the record, our democracy is revered around the world. And free elections are the best way on Earth to choose our leaders. This is how we elected John F. Kennedy; Ronald Reagan; two George Bushes; Bill Clinton; and Barack Obama. It has worked for decades.

We will not be intimidated or pushed off the world stage by people who do not like what we stand for, and that is, freedom, democracy and the fight against disease, poverty and terrorism.

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

I was a very average player and became a trainer in Germany with a special club.

Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.