George W. Bush Quotes
43rd U.S. President
On September 11 2001, America felt its vulnerability even to threats that gather on the other side of the Earth. We resolved then, and we are resolved today, to confront every threat from any source that could bring sudden terror and suffering to America.
To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States.
Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called 'walking.'
Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
Use power to help people. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power and it is to serve people.
Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended.
I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake, we will show the world that we will pass the test.
I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money.
We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail.
I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.
You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.
America is the land of the second chance - and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.
I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.
I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.
Great tragedy has come to us, and we are meeting it with the best that is in our country, with courage and concern for others because this is America. This is who we are.
When I take action, I'm not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive.
We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them.
Today we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation's promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.
Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.
You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.
It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas.
You can't put democracy and freedom back into a box.
I believe that God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom.
We've climbed the mighty mountain. I see the valley below, and it's a valley of peace.
America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.
There's no bigger task than protecting the homeland of our country.
I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging.
A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it.
It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it.
America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people.
Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods.
Any government that supports, protects or harbours terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent and equally guilty of terrorist crimes.
The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.
The financial crisis should not become an excuse to raise taxes, which would only undermine the economic growth required to regain our strength.
We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace.
Our nation must come together to unite.
States should have the right to enact laws... particularly to end the inhumane practice of ending a life that otherwise could live.
The United States and our allies are determined: we refuse to live in the shadow of this ultimate danger.
This was not an act of terrorism, but it was an act of war.
I understand everybody in this country doesn't agree with the decisions I've made. And I made some tough decisions. But people know where I stand.
The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable - and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power Who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true.
America is a Nation with a mission - and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our aim is a democratic peace - a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman.
One of my proudest moments is I didn't sell my soul for the sake of popularity.
Hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to the oppressed, and delivering justice to the violent, they are making America more secure.
I had to abandon free market principles in order to save the free market system.
The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom.
Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.
Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.
Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States.
We cannot let terrorists hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile.
The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war.
After the chaos and carnage of September 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers.
When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ, when you accept Christ as the savior, it changes your heart.
I told you I'm not going to criticize my successor. I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind.
People make suggestions on what to say all the time. I'll give you an example; I don't read what's handed to me. People say, 'Here, here's your speech, or here's an idea for a speech.' They're changed. Trust me.
I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I believe that the free Iraq is in this nation's interests. I believe a free Afghanistan is in this nation's interest.
I think you can judge from somebody's actions a kind of a stability and sense of purpose perhaps created by strong religious roots. I mean, there's a certain patience, a certain discipline, I think, that religion helps you achieve.
I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun.
Some have argued that confronting the threat from Iraq could detract from the war against terror. To the contrary, confronting the threat posed by Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terror.
For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.
The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell.
The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear - and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march.
Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction.
I will never relent in defending America - whatever it takes.
We will stand up for our friends in the world. And one of the most important friends is the State of Israel. My administration will be steadfast in support Israel against terrorism and violence, and in seeking the peace for which all Israelis pray.
I have written a book. This will come as quite a shock to some. They didn't think I could read, much less write.
We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon and to prepare for new journeys to the worlds beyond our own.
Do I think faith will be an important part of being a good president? Yes, I do.
Faith crosses every border and touches every heart in every nation.
It's going to be the year of the sharp elbow and the quick tongue.
The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job to interpret law.
I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman.
The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants.
No one was more shocked or angry than I was when we didn't find the weapons. I had a sickening feeling every time I thought about it. I still do.
Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction.
The United States of America will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins. The killers will fail, and the Iraqi people will live in freedom.
Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history - revisionist historians is what I like to call them.
I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well.
I'm hopeful. I know there is a lot of ambition in Washington, obviously. But I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure.
The United States prefers that Iraq meet its obligations voluntarily, yet we are prepared for the alternative.
And the cornerstone of my economic policies, when I first got elected, was cutting taxes on everybody on who paid taxes.
The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.
Iraq is no diversion. It is a place where civilization is taking a decisive stand against chaos and terror, we must not waver.
The true history of my administration will be written 50 years from now, and you and I will not be around to see it.
We can't allow the world's worst leaders to blackmail, threaten, hold freedom-loving nations hostage with the world's worst weapons.
So, I'm lying on the couch and Laura walks in and I say, 'Free at last,' and she says 'You're free all right, you're free to do the dishes.' So I say, 'You're talking to the former president, baby,' and she said, 'consider this your new domestic policy agenda.'
We don't believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans.
The men and women of Afghanistan are building a nation that is free, and proud, and fighting terror - and America is honored to be their friend.
This way of life is worth defending.
For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein's regime is a better and safer place.
I have zero desire, just so you know, to be in the limelight. I don't think it's good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor. You're not going to see me giving my opinions in the public arena, until I start selling my book. I'm going to emerge then submerge.
If you're sick and tired of the politics of cynicism and polls and principles, come and join this campaign.
I just didn't want to get out there anymore; I didn't want to get back into what I call 'the swamp.' And the other reason why is I don't think it's good for the presidency for a former president to be opining about his successor. President Obama's got plenty of critics - and I'm just not gonna be one.
America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children.
This young century will be liberty's century.
So, for example, a country was into recession right after I was sworn in, a dot-com bust had taken place. Then the attacks of September the 11th, and then of course the great financial meltdown in the -the fundamental question facing any presidency is how do you deal with the hand you're dealt?
With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States. And war is what they got.
And what's interesting, and I don't think a lot of Americans understand this fact, is that, one, most new jobs are created by small businesses; two, most small businesses pay tax at the individual income tax, or many small businesses pay tax there.
Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue.