The atmosphere in which social legislation is considered is not a friend of truth.

At the heart of the deterioration of the fabric of the Negro society is the deterioration of the Negro family.

No one is innocent after the experience of governing. But not everyone is guilty.

The work of democratic government is routinely concerned with matters defined as troubles. In "The Presidency and the Press" I make the point, familiar to anyone who has flown about the world much, that the best quick test of the political nature of a regime is to read the local papers on arrival. If they are filled with bad news, you have landed in a libertarian society of some sort. If, on the other hand, the press is filled with good news, it is a fair bet that the jails will be filled with good men.

The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare.

Secrecy is for losers. . . . It is time to dismantle government secrecy, this most persuasive of Cold War-era regulations. It is time to begin building the supports for the era of openness that is already upon us.

As the family goes, so go the children.