I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts, and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can’t be judged only by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgements make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes only response to pain.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
My Life (2004)
Quotations by:
Clinton, Bill
You know, most of the people I’ve known in this business, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, were good people, honest people, and they did what they thought was right. And I hope that I’ll live long enough to see American politics return to vigorous debates where we argue who’s right and wrong, not who’s good and bad.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Comments at his offical portrait unveiling (14 Jun. 2004)
There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
First Inaugural Address (20 Jan. 1993)
The central tenet of every democracy in the end is trust.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
In Gwen Ifill, “Bill & Al’s Traveling Medicine Show,” New York Times (9 Sep 1993)
Full text.
And I think America, if we’re ever going to truly defeat terror without changing the character of our own country or compromising the future of our children, has got to not only say, “Okay, I want to shoulder my responsibilities, I want to create my share of opportunities” but we have to find a way to define the future in terms of a humanity that goes beyond our country, that goes beyond any particular race, that goes beyond any particular religion.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Inaugural Dole Lecture, U. of Kansas (21 May 2004)
You should have disagreements with your leaders and your colleagues, but if it becomes immediately a question of questioning people’s motives, and if immediately you decide that somebody who sees a whole new situation differently than you must be a bad person and somehow twisted inside, we are not going to get very far in forming a more perfect union.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Inaugural Dole Lecture, U. of Kansas (21 May 2004)
But the problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence. So you have to mold the evidence to get the answer that you’ve already decided you’ve got to have. It doesn’t work that way.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Interview, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (20 Sep 2012)
When we put aside partisanship, embrace the best ideas regardless of where they come from and work for principled compromise, we can move America not left or right, but forward.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
News conference (8 Nov. 1996)
The last time I checked, the Constitution said, “of the people, by the people and for the people.” That’s what the Declaration of Independence says.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech (17 Oct. 1996)
inadvertently quoting the Gettysburg Address
The problem with ideology is, if you’ve got an ideology, you’ve already got your mind made up. You know all the answers and that makes evidence irrelevant and arguments a waste of time. You tend to govern by assertion and attacks.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech at event sponsored by the Center for American Progress (18 Oct 2006)
If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech to students during the 1992 US Presidential campaign
People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech, Democratic National Committee Convention, Denver (27 Aug 2008)
Full text.
Being president is like running a cemetery; you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech, Galesburg, Illinois (Jan 1995)
America cannot and must not be the world’s policeman. We cannot stop all war for all time. But we can stop some wars. We cannot save all women and all children. But we can save many of them. We can’t do everything. But we must do what we can do. There are times and places where our leadership can mean the difference between peace and war.
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Television broadcast (27 Nov 1995)
Speech to rally public support behind stationing troops in Bosnia.