A few favorite quotes from American presidents

As we prepare for the (peaceful) transfer of power this week it’s a great time to look back on some of my favorite quotes by American presidents. Who knows, we might get a new doozy during the inaugural address.

Here are some of my favorites.

Dwight D. Eisenhower — “I like Ike.” OK, he was only in office the first year of my life, so I don’t remember anything he said. That’s just as well because a Google of his quotes is just as boring as the man. But that campaign button phrase transcended the generations.

John F. Kennedy — “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” I was too young to remember hearing it, but that quote is likely the No. 1 presidential quote of my lifetime.

Lyndon B. Johnson — “I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president.” The context of the time during the Vietnam War and the tremendous pressure the man felt was on him nationally and internationally made it memorable.

Richard M. Nixon — “I am not a crook.” That one is pretty easy. I also like the quote at his last press conference when he told the press corps to think about what they would be missing. “You won’t have Nixon to kick around any more.”

Gerald Ford — “Our long national nightmare is over.” Ford didn’t say a lot of profound things. This quote sets him up to be the normal, low-key guy who followed Watergate and the Nixon administration.

Jimmy Carter — “I’ve looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” What the heck was perhaps the most religious president of our time doing giving an interview to Playboy magazine?

Ronald Reagan — “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” The moment at the Berlin Wall captured his entire presidency, which was all about defeating the Soviet Union through strength and use of an international stage. It was one of those quotes that as soon as it was offered, you knew it would endure.

George H.W. Bush — “Read my lips: no new taxes.” It quite possibly turned around an election for Bush and it was just what we all wanted to hear. Unfortunately, the quote lives on with even more luster because his lips were actually a little hard to read — he later raised taxes.

Bill Clinton — “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” Despite all the good things the man accomplished, his presidency will forever be overshadowed by sexual misconduct. Apparently he did have sexual relations with Miss Lewinsky.

George W. Bush — “I can hear you. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you!. ... and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” In a digital age Bush uttered those words through a battery-powered, hand-held megaphone at Ground Zero in New York. It launched, in a real way, the War on Terrorism and led to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Barack Obama — “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek.” He was perhaps the best orator of our time.

Donald Trump — “We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again.” With that the political acronym Trump’s campaign rallies were famous for was launched.

Joe Biden — “We are America, second to none and we own the finish line. Don’t forget it.” Unfortunately, the finish line crept up on this president and in the end his silence stunned us all.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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