George W. Bush Quotes

The only way to protect our people, the only way to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by our leadership -- so the United States of America will continue to lead

The reason we start a war is to fight a war, win a war, thereby causing no more war!

All of us here today understand this: We do not fight Islam, we fight against evil.

Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction.

I believe that a prosperous, democratic Pakistan will be a steadfast partner for America, a peaceful neighbor for India, and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world.

I believe the world would have been a lot worse off if Saddam [Hussein] were in power today.

I don't remember debates. I don't think we spent a lot of time debating it. Maybe we did, but I don't remember.

I was able to adjust initially by plunging right into the book and the Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University. And it turns out that there is a good way to make a living by giving speeches.

[Saddam Hussein] is a threat because he is dealing with al-Qaeda. . . . A true threat facing our country is that an al-Qaeda-type network trained and armed by Saddam could attack America and not leave one fingerprint.

I was the Commander in Chief with men and women in combat. And the idea of trying to agonize in public or show weakness would have demoralized them.

I understand I'm running against a person who is so anxious to become president, he will do whatever it takes.

Too many of our children cannot read. Reading is the building block, and it must be the foundation for education reform.

Wisdom and strength, and my family, is what I'd like for you to pray for.

You're either with us... or you're with the memes!

I feel like God wants me to run for president. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen. I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it.

The United States and rich countries cannot change Africa from within. It has to impose reform on Africa; it has to come from within.

I don't make any apologies for what I do on the campaign trail.

Democrats didn't agree with policies. How do I know? Because they voted against them when they came up on the floor of the House and the Senate.

"Statesman" presumes I'm out there giving opinions all the time about things, and no, I'm not interested in opining on a lot of subjects.

The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls, or martial laws, or secret police. Over time, and across the Earth, freedom will find a way.

This will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome except victory.

I simply said that I would do everything to help Taiwan to defend itself.

I'm hopeful. I know there is a lot of ambition in Washington, obviously. But I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure.

My hope was that by saying clearly to Saddam Hussein, "we're going to enforce UN Resolutions," that he would make the decision to leave peaceably and at least allow for inspectors to come into his country, and if he chose not to, there would be a military option. I want people to understand that the military was my last option. I had a strategy and hopefully solving the problem peacefully - and it wasn't just me, it was a coalition of nations that were involved.

I think -- tide turning -- see, as I remember -- I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of -- it's easy to see a tide turn -- did I say those words?

We're going to get [bin Laden]. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter to me.

Im a strong proponent of the restoration of the wetlands, for a lot of reasons. Theres a practical reason, though, when it comes to hurricanes: The stronger the wetlands, the more likely the damage of the hurricane.

The administration took care of a source of instability in Iraq. Envision a world in which Saddam Hussein was rushing for a nuclear weapon to compete against Iran. My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the correct decision in my judgment. We didn't find the weapons we thought we would find or the weapons everybody thought he had. But he was a significant source of instability.

Liberty is the right and hope of all humanity.

Not every action requires military action. As a matter of fact, military action is the very last resort for us.

I'm excited for my little girls. When they left the nest, I was excited because they were winging their way into life.

We've got to have all those tools. The Patriot Act tearing down those walls between intel and law enforcement are a necessary part of protecting the country. But, in the long term, the only way to defeat this terrorist bunch is through the spread of liberty and freedom. And that's a big challenge. I understand it's a challenge. It requires commitment and patience and persistence.

Doing nothing in the face of a grave threat to the world is not an option.

I try to live a faith-filled life. I'm a believer.

Think about that. Two hundred and eighty-five new or expanded programs, $2 trillion more in new spending, and not one new bureaucrat to file out the forms or answer the phones?

Drug therapies are replacing a lot of medicine as we used to know it.

Year after year in Washington, budget debates seem to come down to an old, tired argument: on one side, those who want more government, regardless of the cost; on the other, those who want less government, regardless of the need....Government has a role, and an important role. Yet, too much government crowds out initiative and hard work, private charity and the private economy....Government should be active, but limited; engaged, but not overbearing.

If you're a poor worker - this is for new workers coming into the workplace - your benefits will increase at the current rate of increase. If you're a wealthier worker, your benefits would increase at the rate of inflation. And those changes would affect positively the unfunded liabilities inherent in Social Security.

War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, 'I was just following orders.'

What mattered to me was that I didn't compromise my soul in order to try to achieve a kind of popularity. The only thing you can do is just live your life.

Each congressional race really depends upon the candidates and how they carry the message.

But the true threats to stability and peace are these nations that are not very transparent, that hide behind the-that don't let people in to take a look and see what they're up to. They're very kind of authoritarian regimes. The true threat is whether or not one of these people decide, peak of anger, try to hold us hostage, ourselves; the Israelis, for example, to whom we'll defend, offer our defenses; the South Koreans.

We have to find the origin of the problem. The origin of the problem in many African countries is that you've got state bureaucracies which are too bloated.

Our Founding Fathers understood that our country would survive and flourish if our Nation was committed to good character and an unyielding dedication to liberty and justice for all.

How can you possibly have an international agreement that's effective unless countries like China and India are not full participants?

I believe it is in the national interest that government stand side-by-side with people of faith who work to change lives for the better. I understand in the past, some in government have said government cannot stand side-by-side with people of faith. Let me put it more bluntly, government can't spend money on religious programs simply because there's a rabbi on the board, cross on the wall, or a crescent on the door. I viewed this as not only bad social policy - because policy by-passed the great works of compassion and healing that take place - I viewed it as discrimination.

I don't particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it.

By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care