Monday, February 18, 2008

President's Day

Being that today is President's Day, I decided to take the day off from enlightening everyone, and will instead give you some random quotes from our over three dozen Presidents :

"I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this house (the White House) and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof!" - John Adams

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." - Thomas Jefferson

"The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted." - James Madison

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." - John Quincy Adams

"As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it." - Martin Van Buren

"Popularity, I have always thought, may aptly be compared to a coquette—the more you woo her, the more apt is she to elude your embrace." - John Tyler

"An honorable defeat is better than a dishonorable victory." - Millard Fillmore

"The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among freemen." - Jams Buchanan

"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" - Abraham Lincoln

"The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people." - Andrew Johnson

"Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office seeking." - Rutherford B Hayes

"If it were not for the reporters, I would tell you the truth." - Chester A Arthur

"Above all, tell the truth." - Grover Cleveland

"The disfranchisement of a single legal elector by fraud or intimidation is a crime too grave to be regarded lightly." - Benjamin Harrison

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt

"If you want to make enemies, try to change something." - Woodrow Wilson

"My God, this is a hell of a job! I have no trouble with my enemies . . . but my damn friends, they're the ones that keep me walking the floor nights." - Warren G Harding

"You can not stop the spread of an idea by passing a law against it." - Harry Truman

"America is best described by one word, freedom." - Dwight Eisenhower

"Truth is the glue that holds governments together. Compromise is the oil that makes governments go." - Gerald Ford

"We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And that makes us special among the nations of the earth." - Ronald Reagan

"There is nothing wrong in America that can't be fixed with what is right in America." - Bill Clinton

My point is that no matter the President, no matter the party, there is wisdom to be found. Every president brings a different view and different ideas to the country. And for better or worse, each man (or woman) that has held and will hold this office would do well to remember that the world is listening.

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