Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. Quotes
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I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right.
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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.
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In the two centuries that have passed since 1776, millions upon millions of Americans have worked and taken up arms when necessary to make that dream a reality. We can be extremely proud of what they have accomplished. Today, we are the world's oldest republic. We are at peace. Our Nation and our way of life endure. We are free.
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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.
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There is no undertaking more challenging, no responsibility more awesome, than that of being a mother.
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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.
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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.
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If compassion and mercy are not compatible with politics then something is the matter with politics.
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A great nation cannot abandon its responsibilities. Responsibilities abandoned today return as more acute crises tomorrow.
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If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave.
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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.
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If it is a clich to say athletics build character as well as muscle, then I subscribe to the clich.
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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.
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An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.
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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.
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I am a Ford, not a Lincoln.
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One of the enduring truths of the nation's capital is that bureaucrats survive.
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We . . . declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers.
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It is good to be back in the Peoples House. But this cannot be a real homecoming. Under the Constitution, I now belong to the executive branch. The Supreme Court has even ruled that I am the executive branchhead, heart, and hand.
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History and experience tell us that moral progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times, but out of trial and confusion.
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I remain convinced that pardoning Nixon was the right thing to do.
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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.
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We have too long treated the natural world as an adversary rather than as a life-sustaining gift from the Almighty. If man has the genius to build, which he has, he must also have the ability and the responsibility to preserve.
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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.