Richard M. Nixon Quotes

I've never canceled a subscription to a newspaper because of bad cartoons or editorials. If that were the case, I wouldn't have any newspapers or magazines to read.

Idealism without pragmatism is impotent. Pragmatism without idealism is meaningless. The key to effective leadership is pragmatic idealism.

It is in that spirit, the spirit of '76, that I ask you to rise and join me in a toast to Chairman Mao, to Premier Chou, to the people of our two countries, and to the hope of our children that peace and harmony can be the legacy of our generation to theirs.

There are some instances where you may be ahead of us, for example, in the development of the thrust of your rockets for the investigation of outer space; there may be some instances in which we are ahead of you--in color television, for instance.

The true idealist pursues what his heart says is right in a way that his head says will work.

We should set goals within the limits of our resources while working to the limits of our powers.

Peace is a great goal, but it is not a panacea. Neither is material wealth.

We have been through, over these years, some difficult times. During the period that I have served as President of the United States, we have been through some difficult times together, and I can only say that the friendship that we have for this nation, the respect and the admiration we have for the people of this nation, their courage, their tenacity, their firmness in the face of very great odds, is one that makes us proud to stand with Israel, as we have in the past in times of trouble, and now to work with Israel in a better time, a time that we trust will be a time of peace.

To the ordinary guy, all this is a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: you can't trust the government, you can't believe what they say, and you can't rely on their judgment.

But above all, what this Congress can be remembered for is opening the way to a new American revolutiona peaceful revolution in which power was turned back to the peoplein which government at all levels was refreshed and renewed and made truly responsive. This can be a revolution as profound, as far-reaching, as exciting as that first revolution almost 200 years agoand it can mean that just 5 years from now America will enter its third century as a young nation new in spirit, with all the vigor and the freshness with which it began its first century.

You cannot win a battle in any arena merely by defending yourself.

Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much.

You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this all while not appearing to.

The jawbone of an ass is just as dangerous a weapon today as in Sampson's time.

Communism denies God, enslaves men, and destroys justice.

If I were to make public these tapes, containing blunt and candid remarks on many different subjects, the confidentiality of the office of the president would always be suspect.

Any change is resisted because bureaucrats have a vested interest in the chaos in which they exist.

For years politicians have promised the Moon. I'm the first one to be able to deliver it.

I would have made a good pope.

Let historians not record that when America was the most powerful nation in the world we passed on the other side of the road and allowed the last hopes for peace and freedom of millions of people to be suffocated by the forces of totalitarianism. And so tonightto you, the great silent majority of my fellow AmericansI ask for your support.

What we do with this peace-whether we preserve it and defend it, or whether we lose it and let it slip away-will be the measure of our worthiness of the spirit and sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands who gave their lives in two World Wars, Korea, and in Vietnam.

The only place you and I disagree is with regard to the bombing. You're so goddamned concerned about the civilians, and I (in contrast) don't give a damn. I don't care.". . . "I'd rather use the nuclear bomb. . . Does that bother you? I just want you to think big.

Because of the realities of human nature, perfect peace is achieved in two places only: in the grave and at the typewriter.

The ultimate test of a nation's character is not how it responds to adversity in war but how it meets the challenge of peace.

Look at the Justice Department, it's full of Jews...The lawyers in government are damn Jews.

You've got to learn to survive a defeat. That's when you develop character.

I want a Goddamn strong statement on marijuana, I mean one that just tears the ass out of them. You know, its a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish.

You find out who your true friends are not when you are on top of the world, but when the world is on top of you.

Italy hasn't had a government since Mussolini.

A man who has never lost himself in a cause bigger than himself has missed one of life's mountaintop experiences. Only in losing himself does he find himself. Only then does he discover all the latent strengths he never knew he had and which otherwise would have remained dormant.

I would not like to be a political leader in Russia. They never know when they're being taped.

They say it's the responsibility of the media to look at government - especially the President - with a microscope. I don't argue with that, but when they use a proctoscope, it's going too far.

I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as president I must put the interests of America first Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

We are committed to cleaning up the air and cleaning up the water. But we also are committed to a strong economy, and we are not going to allow the environmental issue to be used sometimes falsely and sometimes in a demagogic way basically to destroy the system-the industrial system that made this the great country it is.

I was under medication when I made the decision to burn the tapes.

Being trustworthy is something you are, something you stand for and a core value you live by. It isn't something you can train for nor is it something you can manipulate. You either have those values or you don't.

I'll speak for the man, or against him, whichever will do him the most good.

Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.

People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I earned everything I've got.

To me, the most unhappy people in the world are the people ... in Palm Beach- Going to parties every night. Playing golf every afternoon, then bridge. [They have] no purpose.

People are persuaded by reason, but moved by emotion; [the leader] must both persuade them and move them.

It I talked about Watergate, I was described as struggling to free myself from the morass. If I did not talk about Watergate, I was accused of being out of touch with reality.

As we work to expand our supplies of energy, we should also recognize that we must balance those efforts with our concern to preserve our environment. In the past, as we have sought new energy sources, we have too often damaged or despoiled our land.

You must pursue this investigation of Watergate even if it leads to the president. I'm innocent. You've got to believe I'm innocent. If you don't, take my job.

Since I have never one a debate let me tell you how not to lose one.

The average American is just like the child in the family.

Well, I'm not a crook.

God, of course, is the greatest philosopher of all.