Gerald R. Ford Quotations

I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.

Our constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws, not of men.

Teddy Roosevelt... once said, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick.' Jimmy Carter wants to speak loudly and carry a fly swatter.

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

Things are more like today than they have ever been before.

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

Tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time.

The political lesson of Watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant, elite guard of political adolescents to by-pass the regular party organization and dictate the terms of a national election.

There are no adequate substitutes for father, mother, and children bound together in a loving commitment to nurture and protect. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, can take the place of the family in the scheme of things.

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

The pat on the back, the arm around the shoulder, the praise for what was done right and the sympathetic nod for what wasn't are as much a part of golf as life itself.

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 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.

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.

I would hope that understanding and reconciliation are not limited to the 19th hole alone.

Our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

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.

Truth is the glue that holds government together.

I love sports. Whenever I can, I always watch the Detroit Tigers on the radio.

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

I have had a lot of adversaries in my political life, but no enemies that I can remember.

It's the quality of the ordinary, the straight, the square, that accounts for the great stability and success of our nation. It's a quality to be proud of. But it's a quality that many people seem to have neglected.

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.

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.

My commitment to the security and future of Israel is based upon basic morality as well as enlightened self-interest. Our role in supporting Israel honors our own heritage.

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.

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.

I watch a lot of baseball on the radio.

An American tragedy in which we all have played a part.

When a man is asked to make a speech, the first thing he has to decide is what to say.

The tough decisions that a president has to make in the Oval Office are in no way related to the capability of a person to do well on television. On the other hand, the capability of a person to project favorably on television enhances that person's odds of being elected so he can serve in the Oval Office. So you can't ignore the talents, one, to be very effective on television, and on the other hand, to be very effective as an operating president.

The Federal role in overcoming barriers to needed health care should emphasize health care financing programs-such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Our Nation has a diverse and extremely rich cultural heritage. It is a source of pride and strength to millions of Americans who look to the arts for inspiration, communication and the opportunity for creative self-expression.

Ronald Regan doesn't dye his hair - he's just prematurely orange.

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

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.

Let America symbolize humanity's struggle to conquer nature and master technology. The time has now come for our Government to facilitate the individual's control over his or her future-and of the future of America.

I am the first to admit that I am no great orator or no person that got where I have gotten by any William Jennings Bryan technique.

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 am a Ford, not a Lincoln. My addresses will never be as eloquent as Mr. Lincoln's. But I will do my very best to equal his brevity and his plain speaking.

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.

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.

We came from many roots, and we have many branches.

Let us remember that our national unity is a most priceless asset.

Government exists to create and preserve conditions in which people can translate their ideas into practical reality. In the best of times, much is lost in translation. But we try.

Ronald Reagan was an excellent leader of our nation during challenging times at home and abroad.

I think that sports, particularly football, gave me an opportunity to be out front, to be a leader, which helped me later on, when I got into politics.

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

I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security.

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.

Theirs is an American tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on, or someone must write "The End" to it. I have concluded that only I can do that. And if I can, I must.

It's more like it is now than it ever has been.

We are bound together by the most powerful of all ties, our fervent love for freedom and independence, which knows no homeland but the human heart.

The old question still remains: Can a free people restrain crime without sacrificing fundamental liberties and a heritage of compassion?

The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.

In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs, and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment of the subject.

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.

The harder you work, the luckier you are, and I worked like hell.

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

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

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 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.

A strong defense is the surest way to peace. Strength makes detente attainable. Weakness invites war, as my generationmy generationknows from four very bitter experiences. Just as Americas will for peace is second to none, so will Americas 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.

Mr. President, putting it bluntly, wouldn't we just be continuing a bloodbath that already exists in Cambodia if we voted the 222 million in aid?

Personal excellence can be achieved by a visionary goal, through planning, dedicated execution, and total follow-through.

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.

Sit down before facts as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion — or you shall learn nothing.

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.

The United States ... has been proud of its association with the State of Israel. We shall continue to stand with Israel. We are committed to Israel's survival and security. The United States for a quarter of a century has had an excellent relationship with the State of Israel. We have cooperated in many, many fields - in your security, in the well-being of the Middle East, and in leading what we all hope is a lasting peace throughout the world.

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

To know John Kennedy, as I did, was to understand the true meaning of the word. He understood that courage is not something to be gauged in a poll or located in a focus group. No adviser can spin it. No historian can backdate it. For, in the age old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity's approval.

In baseball when they say you're out, you're out. It's the same way in politics.

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

In a political sense, there is one problem that currently underlies all of the others. That problem is making Government sufficiently responsive to the people. If we don't make government responsive to the people, we don't make it believable. And we must make government believable if we are to have a functioning democracy.

The earth will continue to regenerate its life sources only as long as we and all the peoples of the world do our part to conserve its natural resources. It is a responsibility which every human being shares. Through voluntary action, each of us can join in building a productive land in harmony with nature.

The Constitution is the bedrock of all our freedoms; guard and cherish it; keep honor and order in your own house; and the republic will endure.

There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.

I know well the coequal role of the Congress in our constitutional process. I love the House of Representatives. I revere the traditions of the Senate despite my too-short internship in that great body. As President, within the limits of basic principles, my motto toward the Congress is communication, conciliation, compromise, and cooperation.

We . . . declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers.

The American dream does not come to those who fall asleep.

In the age-old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity's approval.

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.

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.

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.

I think they ought to be treated equally. Period.

Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. These events, tragic as they are, portend neither the end of the world nor of America's leadership in the world.

My golf must be improving, I'm not hitting as many spectators.

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.

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

The Declaration [of Independence] was not a protest against government, but against the excess of government. It prescribed the proper role of government, to secure the rights of individuals and to effect their safety and happiness. In modern society, no individual can do this alone. So government is not a necessary evil but a necessary good.

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 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.

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 know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon.

The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency.

I recognize the need for technology that enriches life while preserving our natural environment. My goal is to stimulate productivity, but use technology to redeem, not to destroy our environment.

The length of one's days matters less than the love of one's family and friends.

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

Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.