George H. W. Bush Quotations

We are a nation of communities... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.

I think the 24-hour news cycle has helped exaggerate the differences between the parties. You can always find someone on TV somewhere carping about something. That didn't happen 20 years ago.

I like a colorful sock. I'm a sock man.

Ageing's alright, better than the alternative, which is not being here.

It's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another.

Poland should be strong and prosperous and independent and play its proper role as a great nation in the heart of Europe.

We know what works. Freedom Works. We know what's right. Freedom is right.

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.

Many schools include a service project as part of their curriculum, and many corporations have in-house projects for their employees or give them time off to do volunteer work.

I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.

The day will come - and it is not far off - when the legacy of Lincoln will finally be fulfilled at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, when a black man or woman will sit in the Oval Office. When that day comes, the most remarkable thing about it will be how naturally it occurs.

One of the good things about the way the Gulf War ended in 1991 is, you'd see the Vietnam veterans marching with the Gulf War veterans.

As his vice president for eight years, I learned more from Ronald Reagan than from anyone I encountered in all my years of public life.

Please don't ask me to do that which I've just said I'm not going to do, because you're burning up time. The meter is running through the sand on you, and I am now filibustering.

I can't ever remember sitting around and saying, 'gosh let's hurry up and get these debates going, that'll win it for me.' Nope.

A new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree.

What's wrong with being a boring kind of guy?

I have a form of Parkinson's disease, which I don't like. My legs don't move when my brain tells them to. It's very frustrating.

America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world.

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

We don't want an America that is closed to the world. What we want is a world that is open to America.

We are not the sum of our possessions.

Never ask anyone over 70 how they feel. They'll tell you.

I have opinions of my own - strong opinions - but I don't always agree with them.

It's a very good question, very direct, and I'm not going to answer it.

I'll be glad to reply to or dodge your questions, depending on what I think will help our election most.

I think I'd be a better president because I was in combat.

Gulf Lesson One is the value of airpower.

But let me tell you, this gender thing is history. You're looking at a guy who sat down with Margaret Thatcher across the table and talked about serious issues.

I'm conservative, but I'm not a nut about it.

I am not one who - who flamboyantly believes in throwing a lot of words around.

I have been very happy in the House of Representatives.

I think in defeat you grope for things that are happy, and it's hard.

more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.

My hope is that we will be able to turn a corner with China,

make it possible -- more possible -- to do our job.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for New Orleans and Galveston. I urge the citizens to listen carefully to the instructions provided by state and the local authorities. And follow them,

Some Americans want us to withdraw our troops, so we can escape the violence,

Of course, there's disagreements, ... That's their right.

One of the things people want us to do here is play the blame game, ... We got to solve problems. There will be ample time to figure out what went right and what went wrong.

One of the very best reasons I can think of to vote for me as president is to have Laura Bush as first lady of the United States of America.

one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of our time.

Mongolia and the United States are standing together as brothers in the cause of freedom.

positive day for the Iraqis and as well for world peace.

No chairman has been more deeply involved in more critical decisions involving our country and our security and certainly involving the men and women in uniform,

New Hampshire has long been known as a bump in the road for front-runners.

I don't fault past presidents for trying and failing, ... You've got to try.

If we had the UP 4141 back when I was still in office, I might have left Air Force One behind more often!

legal but taxed and regulated like other goods.

When those Coast Guard choppers, many of who were first on the scene, were pulling people off roofs, they didn't check the color of a person's skin,

We're concerned about AIDS inside our White Housemake no mistake about it.

My impression of New Orleans is this: That there is a recovery on the way,

Maybe you know something I don't know. I've been working,

Mr. Castro, once, just once, show that you're unafraid of a real election.

making sure that humanitarian relief gets to the people who are suffering in Liberia.

Lynne is an incredibly important member of this team.

September the 11th changed the way I think.

We might have an idea, ... They have been around before.

When the storm passes, the federal government has got assets and resources that we'll be deploying to help you. In the meantime, America will pray - pray for the health and safety of all our citizens.

Has the place blown up since he's been here?

He led our military to historic achievements in some of the most trying times America has known. And today, he retires with the pride and appreciation of our entire nation,

From now on, any definition of a successful life must include serving others.

I am confident the country will stay together until elections, and once they elect a president, we will work with them,

If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations,

I expect there to be criticism, but when Democrats say that I deliberately misled the Congress and the people, that's irresponsible,

If it costs me politically, it costs me politically,

I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action.

I don't know whether or not the press corps realizes it, but his is a challenging assignment, dealing with you all on a regular basis, and I thought he handled his assignment with class and integrity ... It's going to be hard to replace Scott.

China is a great emerging nation. I strongly support trade with China.

China will find in America a confident and willing trade partner.

have access to all the information and military intelligence available to the commander in chief.

What I intend to do is lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong, ... We still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure we can respond properly if there is a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) attack or another major storm.

What I'm against is quotas. I'm against hard quotas, quotas that basically delineate based upon whatever. However they delineate, quotas, I think, vulcanize society.

When he says he's going to hurt the American people again, or try to, he means it. I take it seriously, and the people of NSA take it seriously.

I admit it, I am not one of the great linguists.

We meet in Sinai at a moment of promise for the cause of peace in the Middle East.

I also want to send the message that I think this can be resolved peacefully,

He was straight, to the point, asked the tough question, but never had a kind of edge that put people off guard, ... I don't know what they're going to do there at CNN. But I think that they must know, in losing Bernie Shaw they've lost an icon.

He can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road.

I am against hard quotas, quotas they basically delineate based upon whatever.

If that were the case, then Bill Clinton would have never been president.

If the Iraqi regime were disarming, we would know it because we would see it.

He is a man of extraordinary accomplishment and ability,

had posited the very human question ... 'would you want a member of your family flying?' And the answer was no.

he would have to break almost all of his other ones.

History? We don't know. We'll all be dead.

Under Doha, every nation will gain -- and the developing world stands to gain the most. The World Bank estimates that if the Doha Round passes, 300 million people will be lifted from poverty

...Whatever the road that lies ahead, that road will take me home.

We can expect they'll do everything in their power to try to stop the march to freedom,

He is most widely remembered in foreign-policy circles for being the United States' representative at the multiparty negotiation over the future of divided Germany. He persuaded the Bush administration to embrace German unity despite the qualms of allies and alarm in the former Soviet Union.

Joel Kaplan is a man of great talent, intellect and experience who possesses a deep knowledge of policy and budget processes.

I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. You're doing a heck of a job. You cut your teeth here, right? That's where you started practicing? That's good. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me.

I was voting for the process that the president posed. There was a right way to do this and a wrong way to do it. And the president chose the wrong way.

Some in our nation's capital respond a little differently than I will; they want to increase federal spending dramatically, ... The problem with that plan is that someone has to pay for it and that somebody is gonna be you.

Some have argued we should wait, and that's an option. In my view, it's the riskiest of all options, because the longer we wait, the stronger and bolder Saddam Hussein will become.

is a critical step on the path to Iraqi self-reliance.

Recovery is going to take years. We need to help these Gulf Coast communities and, of course, the great city of New Orleans get back on their feet. The job is too big, too overwhelming for any one group.

President Abbas is a man devoted to peace and to his people's aspiration for a state of their own,

President Bush, testing the mic at the GOP convention:'Four score and seven years ago. We have come here to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place. ... My fellow members of the press corps, especially the camera man, tax relief is on the way ... don't spend it all in one place.'

Paul's soft-spoken, hard-working ways will be sorely missed by all of us who knew him and loved him.