Best 139 quotes of Gerald R. Ford on MyQuotes

A coalition of groups is waging a massive propaganda campaign against the president of the United States. an all-out attack. Their aim is total victory for themselves and total defeat for him.

A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.

A great nation cannot abandon its responsibilities. Responsibilities abandoned today return as more acute crises tomorrow.

All my children have spoken for themselves since they first learned to speak, and not always with my advance approval, and I expect that to continue in the future.

All of us who served in one war or another know very well that all wars are the glory and the agony of the young.

America needed recovery, not revenge. The hate had to be drained and the healing begun.

America now is stumbling through the darkness of hatred and divisiveness. Our values, our principles, and our determination to succeed as a free and democratic people will give us a torch to light the way. And we will survive and become the stronger - not only because of a patriotism that stands for love of country, but a patriotism that stands for love of people.

America's leadership is essential. America's resources are vast. America's opportunities are unprecedented.

An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history; conviction results from whatever offense or offenses two-thirds of the other body considers to be sufficiently serious to require removal of the accused from office.

An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.

As a man of the Congress, let me reaffirm my conviction that the collective wisdom of our two great legislative bodies while not infallible will in the end serve the people faithfully and very, very well.

As I rejected amnesty, so I reject revenge. I ask all Americans who ever asked for goodness and mercy in their lives, who ever sought forgiveness for their trespasses, to join in rehabilitating all the casualties of the tragic conflict of the past.

As President, I am determined to offer leadership to overcome our current economic problems. My goal is for jobs for all who want to work and economic opportunity for all who want to achieve.

A strong defense is the surest way to peace. Strength makes detente attainable. Weakness invites war, as my generation - my generation - knows from four very bitter experiences. Just as America's will for peace is second to none, so will America's strength be second to none. We cannot rely on the forbearance of others to protect this Nation. The power and diversity of the Armed Forces, active Guard and Reserve, the resolve of our fellow citizens, the flexibility in our command to navigate international waters that remain troubled are all essential to our security.

Can a free people restrain crime without sacrificing fundamental liberties and a heritage of compassion?... Let us show that we can temper together those opposite elements of liberty and restraint into one consistent whole. Let us set an example for the world of a law-abiding America glorying in its freedom as well as its respect for law.

Compromise is the oil that makes governments go.

Conservatism has always meant more to me than simply sticking up for private property & free enterprise. It has also meant defending our heritage & preserving our values.

During the day on Monday, Washington time, the airport at Saigon came under persistent rocket as well as artillery fire and was effectively closed. The military situation in the area deteriorated rapidly. I therefore ordered the evacuation of all American personnel remaining in South Vietnam.

Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.

For millions of men and women, the church has been the hospital for the soul, the school for the mind and the safe depository for moral ideas.

For nearly two hundred years, our nation has derived its strength from the diversity of its people and of their beliefs. That strength has been greatly enhanced by [the Islamic] religious heritage.

Frankly, I've never felt voting to be all that essential to the process.

He was one of the few political leaders I have ever met whose public speeches revealed more than his private conversations. [On Ronald Reagan]

History and experience tell us that moral progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times, but out of trial and confusion.

Humor can help you to disagree without being disagreeable. The key in democracy is not necessarily that we agree, but that we participate....Despite all the heavy problems- domestic and international- there is humor. Humor transcends partisanship.

I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.

I am committed to furthering the self-determination of Indian communities but without terminating the special relationship between the Federal Government and the Indian people. I am strongly opposed to termination. Self-determination means that you can decide the nature of your tribe's relationship with the Federal Government within the framework of the Self-Determination Act, which I signed in January of 1975.

I am determined to seek self-sufficiency in energy as an urgent national priority. My goal is to make America independent of foreign energy sources by 1985.

I believe in friendly compromise. I said over in the Senate hearings that truth is the glue that holds government together. Compromise is the oil that makes governments go.

I believe that prayer in public schools should be voluntary. It is difficult for me to see how religious exercises can be a requirement in public schools, given our Constitutional requirement of separation of church and state. I feel that the highly desirable goal of religious education must be principally the responsibility of church and home. I do not believe that public education should show any hostility toward religion, and neither should it inhibit voluntary participation, if it does not interfere with the educational process.

I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad. In all my public and private acts as your President, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end. My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government, but civilization itself.

I can assure you the National Federation is an organization of Republican women whose power, prestige, perception, and purpose will never be underestimated by anyone.

I cannot imagine any other country in the world where the opposition would seek, and the chief executive would allow, the dissemination of his most private and personal conversations with his staff, which, to be honest, do not exactly confer sainthood on anyone concerned.

I couldn't wait to start the day.

I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right.

I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference. I do believe, with all my heart and mind and spirit, that I, not as President but as a humble servant of God, will receive justice without mercy if I fail to show mercy.

I do believe, with all my heart and mind and spirit, that I, not as President but as a humble servant of God, will receive justice without mercy if I fail to show mercy.

I don't know what the future may hold for me-or for any of us. But I want you to know that I am a man who likes having critics who are not enemies.

If compassion and mercy are not compatible with politics then something is the matter with politics.

If it is a clichй to say athletics build character as well as muscle, then I subscribe to the clich.

If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on learning to write and to speak before an audience . Nothing is more important than the abillity to communicate effectively.

If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave.

If you have not chosen me by secret ballot, neither have I gained office by any secret promises. I have not campaigned either for the Presidency or the Vice Presidency. I have not subscribed to any partisan platform. I am indebted to no man, and only to one womanmy dear wifeas I begin this very difficult job.

I had a life-long ambition to be a professional baseball player, but nobody would sign me.

I had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am.

I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who were pretty hard up for linemen in those days. If I had gone into professional football the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today.

I have always felt that the real purpose of government is to enhance the lives of people and that a leader can best do that by restraining government in most cases instead of enlarging it at every opportunity.

I have taken special interest in these accounts [of UFOs].. I think there may be substance to some of these reports... I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject.

I hope never to see the day that I cannot admit having made a mistake.