Republican Presidential quotes from Richard M. Nixon to George W. Bush
Gerald R. Ford 38th President 1974-1977
Here are some interesting and insightful
quotes from Gerald Ford:
“Things are more like today than they have ever been before.”
During the Carter-Ford debates, Ford committed a gaffe when he declared that "Eastern Europe was free."
"I watch a lot of baseball on the radio."
"There are no historic or legal
precedents to which I can turn in this matter, none that precisely fit the
circumstances of a private citizen who has resigned the presidency of the United
States. . . . Many months and perhaps more years will have to pass before
Richard Nixon could hope to obtain a fair trial by jury . . . But it is not the
ultimate fate of Richard Nixon that most concerns me . . . but the immediate
future of this great country . . . . Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford,
president of the United States . . . have granted and do grant a full, free and
absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States
which he . . . has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the
period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974."
"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 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." (1974)
"I guess it just proves that in America
anyone can be president."
"It can 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." (Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon for Watergate)
"Teddy Roosevelt . . . once said, 'Speak
softly and carry a big stick.' Jimmy Carter wants to speak loudly and carry a
fly swatter."
"Our inflation, our public enemy number
one, will, unless whipped, destroy our country, our homes, our liberties, our
property and finally our national pride as surely as will an well-armed wartime
enemy." (1974)
"When I talk about energy, I am talking
about jobs. Our American economy runs on energy. No energy—no jobs."
"I am a Ford, not a Lincoln." (On
becoming vice president, December 1973)
"When I became president, I did not want
to have a powerful chief of staff. Wilson had his Colonel House, Eisenhower his
Sherman Adams, Nixon his Halderman, and I was aware of the trouble those top
assistants had caused my predecessors."
"If the government is big enough to give
you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you
have."
"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."
"He was one of the few political leaders
I have ever met whose public speeches revealed more than his private
conversations." (On Ronald Reagan)
"Truth is the glue that holds government
together. Compromise is the oil that makes governments go." (Comment during
U.S. House committee hearing, 1973)
"The American people want a dialogue
between them and their president . . . And if we can’t have that opportunity
of talking with one another, seeing one another, shaking hands with one another,
something has gone wrong in our society." (Following two assassination
attempts)