Best 212 quotes of George H. W. Bush on MyQuotes

Abraham Lincoln truly inspired me. It wasn’t just the freeing of the slaves, he kept the Union together. Some people even forget that today. What I think inspired me was the fact that in spite of being the president of the United States he retained a certain down-to-earth quality. He never got to be a big shot, and he cared about people.

A campaign is a disagreement, and disagreements divide. But an election is a decision, and decisions clear the way for harmony and peace. I mean to be president of all the people.

A good country song taps into strong undercurrents of family, faith, and patriotism.

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.

American business can out-think, out-work, out-perform any nation in the world. But we can't beat the competition if we don't get in the ball game.

And so, as they climb the ladder of achievement, I'd simply say, remember what Barbara Bush told those girls at Wellesley: "What happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House.

A new breeze is blowing--and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on: there is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken.

A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken. There are times when the future seems thick as a fog; you sit and wait, hoping the mists will lift and reveal the right path. But this is a time when the future seems a door you can walk right through into a room called tomorrow.

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.

Any definition of a successful life must include service to others.

Appeasement does not work. As was the case in the 1930s, we see in Saddam Hussein an aggressive dictator threatening his neighbors.

A President is neither prince nor pope, and I don't seek a window on men's souls. In fact, I yearn for a greater tolerance, an easy-goingness about each other's attitudes and way of life.

As for me, tough duty though it may be, I continue to do my part for the commercial recreation industry. Fishing, boating, tennis, golf, running, hunting, and all of this. Horseshoes. It's tough duty. Somebody has to do it, and I'm going to keep on.

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.

As president, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 26 years of wrongful imprisonment - setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all.

As you know, in the 2000 campaign I articulated a point of view that we ought to have personal savings accounts for younger workers that would make sure those younger workers receive benefits equal to or greater than that which is expected, ... I still maintain the same position.

A time of historic change is no time for recklessness.

At Odessa we became Texans, and proud of it.

At the front end, to stop people from illegally entering our country, not at the back end, by reimbursing states after it has failed to enforce the border. [I] would allocate additional resources to enforcing the border, so states such as Texas and California would not have the huge expenses they currently do.

A volunteer is a person who can see what others cannot see; who can feel what most do not feel.

Be bold in your caring, and be bold in your dreaming.

Be strong,be kind,be generous of spirit, be understanding and let people know how grateful you are.Dont get even.Comfort the ones i've hurt and let down.Say your prayers and ask for Gods understanding and strength.Finish with a smile and some gustoand do what's' right and finish strong.

Both must make tangible, immediate steps toward this vision.

But I see history as a book with many pages--and each day we fill a page with acts of hopefulness and meaning.

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.

But the biggest thing that has happened in the world in my life, in our lives, is this: By the grace of God, America won the Cold War.

By the grace of God, we won the Cold War.

By the year 2000, all Americans must be able to set the clocks on their VCRs.

Communism didn't fall. It was pushed.

Competence is a narrow ideal. Competence makes the trains run on time but doesn't know where they're going.

Courage is a terribly important value. It means you don’t run away when things are tough. It means you don’t turn away from a friend when he or she is in trouble. It means standing up against the majority opinion... There’s a lot of people who won’t wear it on their sleeve, or display it through some heroic act. But courage is having the strength to do what’s honorable and decent.

Don't confuse being 'soft' with seeing the other guy's point of view.

Don't try to fine-tune somebody else's view.

Draconian limits on economic growth and on the use of the automobile should not be necessary in order to give Americans clean air at levels they are willing to pay for, but it will require significant Federal, State, and local leadership and innovative approaches from government and industry.

Each of the patriots whom we remember on this day was first a beloved son or daughter, a brother or sister, or a spouse, friend, and neighbor.

Education is not complete unless we teach our children not only how to read and write but the difference between right and wrong.

Education is the key to opportunity. It's a ticket out of poverty.

Equality begins with economic empowerment.

Every American expects and deserves clean air, and then we act on that belief, then we will set an example for the rest of the world to follow.

Every problem that the country faces is being solved in some community by some group or some individual. The question is how to get connected so that the whole nation can solve problems. A volunteer is a person who can see what others cannot see; who can feel what most do not feel. Often, such gifted persons do not think of themselves as volunteers, but as citizens - citizens in the fullest sense; partners in civilization.

Extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different - and perhaps barren - outcome.

Freedom and the power to choose should not be the privilege of wealth. They are the birthright of every American.

From last night's All Together Now, a Celebration of Service: There can be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others.

Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land.

Great nations of the world are moving toward democracy.

I am for an immigration policy that's welcoming and upholds the law.

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

I believe we should make use of what we know. We know that the future of the Earth must not be compromised.

I believe with all my heart that one cannot be America's president without a belief in God, without the strength that your faith gives you.

I can tell you this: If I'm ever in a position to call the shots, I'm not going to rush to send somebody else's kids into a war.