WIST Quotations

Gellhorn, Martha -- Letter (1971) to Daniel Ellsberg

Dave — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:47:01 +0000

The Founding Fathers cannot have intended a President and his small group of appointed advisors to perform like a monarch surrounded by his court. As if the people’s representatives and the people themselves were a general nuisance, and the job is to keep the whole tiresome bunch quiet: manipulate them.

Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998) American novelist, journalist war correspontent
Letter (1971) to Daniel Ellsberg
(Source)

An open letter Gellhorn wrote to Daniel Ellsberg. In 1971, Ellsberg, a military analyst, leaked the "Pentagon Papers" to the media, a top-secret Defense Department study of US goverment decision-making in the Vietnam War. He was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, but due to government misconduct and illegal evidence-gathering, all charges were dismissed in 1973.

More importantly, the US government, under Richard Nixon, tried to impose a preemptive injunction to stop the Papers' publication by US media. The Supreme Court ruled in New York Times Co. v. United States that such prior restraint of publication was unconstitutional.

Adams, John -- Letter (1800-11-02) to Abigail Adams

Dave — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:51:17 +0000

I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1800-11-02) to Abigail Adams
(Source)

Referring to the White House. Written the day after his arrival in Washington, DC. Adams was the first resident at the new (and unfinished) Executive Residence, though the cornerstone had been laid in 1792.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6

Dave — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:33:32 +0000

I shall support every official from the President down who does well, and shall oppose every such official who does ill. I shall not put the personal comfort of the President or of any other public servant above the welfare of the country.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6
(Source)

On censorship actions by the Wilson Administration taken against critics of its handling of war efforts.

Reprinted in Appendix C of his The Great Adventure (1918), and as ch. 7 of that book in Vol. 21 of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt (1925), The Great Adventure.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6

Dave — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 16:25:18 +0000

We hold that our loyalty is due solely to the American Republic, and to all our public servants exactly in proportion as they efficiently and faithfully serve the Republic. Our opponents, in flat contradiction of Lincoln’s position, hold that our loyalty is due to the President, not the country; to one man, the servant of the people, instead of to the people themselves. In practice they adopt the fetishism of all believers in absolutism; for every man who parrots the cry of “stand by the President,” without adding the proviso “so far as he serves the Republic” takes an attitude as essentially unmanly as that of any Stuart Royalist who championed the doctrine that the King could do no wrong. No self-respecting and intelligent freeman can take such an attitude.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6
(Source)

On censorious actions by the Wilson Administration taken against critics of its handling of war efforts.

Reprinted in Appendix C of his The Great Adventure (1918), and as ch. 7 of that book in Vol. 21 of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt (1925), The Great Adventure.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6

Dave — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 18:02:06 +0000

One form of servility consists in a slavish attitude — of the kind incompatible with self-respecting manliness — toward any person who is powerful by reason of his office or position. Servility may be shown by a public servant toward the profiteering head of a large corporation, or toward the anti-American head of a big labor organization. It may also be shown in peculiarly noxious and un-American form by confounding the President or any other official with the country and shrieking “stand by the President” without regard to whether, by so acting, we do or do not stand by the country.

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (1988-08), “Unconventional Wisdom,” Ms magazine

Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:59:54 +0000

The great quadrennial national circus is upon us: three rings, cast of thousands, red, white, and blue balloons by the ton, red, white, and blue bullshit by the hour, confusion, exhaustion, alcohol, and the fate of the nation.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1988-08), “Unconventional Wisdom,” Ms magazine
(Source)

Collected in Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? (1991).

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:42:33 +0000

In ‘your’ hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in ‘mine’, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail ‘you’. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. ‘You’ have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect, and defend it.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1861-03-04), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Lincoln spent most of his first Inaugural addressing the Southern states, trying to forestall their secession. This was the penultimate paragraph (before the "better angels of our nature" one) in the speech as given.

In Lincoln's "First Edition" of the address, a somewhat harsher version of this paragraph was the actual ending of the speech:

In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you, unless you first assail it. You can have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect, and defend” it. You can forbear the assault upon it; I can not shrink from the defense of it. With you, and not with me, is the solemn question of “Shall it be peace, or a sword?"

Lincoln offered William Seward, one of his political rivals, an opportunity to review and suggest changes to the draft. Seward offered a number of edits, including in this portion scratching out the last two sentences Lincoln had written, as well as the "first assail" clause.

Seward also added an additional paragraph after this, rather than leaving it as the ending.

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 2 (2018)

Dave — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 16:09:51 +0000

To many white Americans, President Obama must have been corrupt, because his very occupation of the White House was a kind of corruption of the traditional order. When women attain positions of political power usually reserved for men — or when Muslims, blacks, Jews, homosexuals, or “cosmopolitans” profit or even share the public goods of a democracy, such as healthcare — that is perceived as corruption.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 2 (2018)
(Source)

Polk, James K. -- Diary (1849-02-13)

Dave — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 19:02:47 +0000

I am heartily rejoiced that my term is so near its close. I will soon cease to be a servant and will become a sovereign.

James K. Polk (1795-1849) American lawyer, politician, US President (1845-1849)
Diary (1849-02-13)
(Source)

Polk, James K. -- Inaugural Address (4 Mar 1845)

Dave — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:07:38 +0000

Although in our country the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a part only, but of the whole people of the United States. While he executes the laws with an impartial hand, shrinks from no proper responsibility, and faithfully carries out in the executive department of the Government the principles and policy of those who have chosen him, he should not be unmindful that our fellow-citizens who have differed with him in opinion are entitled to the full and free exercise of their opinions and judgments, and that the rights of all are entitled to respect and regard.

James K. Polk (1795-1849) American lawyer, politician, US President (1845-1849)
Inaugural Address (4 Mar 1845)
(Source)

Schlesinger, Arthur -- The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal, ch. 33, sec. 3 (1959)

Dave — Thu, 28 May 2020 18:26:21 +0000

The worst error a president can make is to assume the automatic implementation of his own decisions. In certain respects, having able subordinates aggravates that problem, since strong personalities tend to have strong ideas of their own. Civil government operates by consent, not by command; the President’s task, even within his own branch of government, is not to order but to lead.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007) American historian, author, social critic
The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal, ch. 33, sec. 3 (1959)
(Source)

Jackson, Andrew -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:19:07 +0000

I have accustomed myself to receive with respect the opinions of others, but always take the responsibility of deciding for myself.

Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) American politician, general, US President (1829-1837)
(Attributed)

Quoted by John F. Kennedy in the foreword to T. Sorensen, Decision-Making in the White House: The Olive Branch or the Arrows (1963)

Mencken, H. L. -- “Bayard vs. Lionheart,” The Baltimore Evening Sun (26 Jul 1920)

Dave — Wed, 03 May 2017 20:15:40 +0000

As democracy is perfected, the office [of the President] represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“Bayard vs. Lionheart,” The Baltimore Evening Sun (26 Jul 1920)

Variant: "As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron."

Verification and discussion of this quotation here, here, and here.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Letter (1968-11-09) to the Smothers Brothers

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 01:59:43 +0000

It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Letter (1968-11-09) to the Smothers Brothers

Replying to a letter from them apologizing for making him the target of so much of their humor. More info here and here.

Lincoln, Abraham -- (Attributed (1861))

Dave — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 04:03:46 +0000

You have heard the story, haven’t you, about the man who was tarred and feathered and carried out of town on a rail? A man in the crowd asked him how he liked it. His reply was that if it was not for the honor of the thing, he would much rather walk.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
(Attributed (1861))

When asked how he liked being president (c. 1861). Quoted in Emanuel Hertz, Lincoln Talks: A Biography in Anecdote (1939).

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-04-06), “Citizens or Subjects?” Kansas City Star

Dave — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:49:16 +0000

Our loyalty is due entirely to the United States. It is due to the President only and exactly to the degree in which he efficiently serves the United States. It is our duty to support him when he serves the United States well. It is our duty to oppose him when he serves it badly.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-04-06), “Citizens or Subjects?” Kansas City Star
(Source)

Regarding a bill which had just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee which would fine and imprison any one who used "contemptuous or slurring language about the President."

This passage was added to later editions of his essay, "Lincoln and Free Speech,", as printed in The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, vol. 21, The Great Adventure, ch. 7 (1925). It does not appear in the original version of the essay or book. See Roosevelt and Roosevelt.

Cooke, Alistair -- Talk About America, ch. 6 (1981)

Dave — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 02:32:47 +0000

All presidents start out to run a crusade, but after a couple of years they find they are running something less heroic and much more intractable: namely, the presidency.

Alistair Cooke (1908-2004) Anglo-American essayist and journalist
Talk About America, ch. 6 (1981)

Hayes, Rutherford -- Inaugural address (5 Mar 1877)

Dave — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 21:48:03 +0000

He serves his party best who serves the country best.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) American attorney, soldier, politician, US President (1877-81)
Inaugural address (5 Mar 1877)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Interview (1932-09-11), New York Times Magazine

Dave — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:41:19 +0000

The Presidency is not merely an administrative office. That’s the least of it. It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. All our great Presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Interview (1932-09-11), New York Times Magazine
(Source)

Carter, Jimmy -- Speech, Southern Baptist Brotherhood Commission (16 Jun 1978)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 19:40:34 +0000

You can’t divorce religious belief and public service. I’ve never detected any conflict between God’s will and my political duty. If you violate one, you violate the other.

Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) American politician, US President (1977-1981), Nobel laureate [James Earl Carter, Jr.]
Speech, Southern Baptist Brotherhood Commission (16 Jun 1978)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Autobiography, ch. 10 “The Presidency” (1913)

Dave — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:47:33 +0000

The most important factor in getting the right spirit in my Administration, next to the insistence upon courage, honesty, and a genuine democracy of desire to serve the plain people, was my insistence upon the theory that the executive power was limited only by specific restrictions and prohibitions appearing in the Constitution or imposed by the Congress under its Constitutional powers. My view was that every executive officer, and above all every executive officer in high position, was a steward of the people bound actively and affirmatively to do all he could for the people, and not to content himself with the negative merit of keeping his talents undamaged in a napkin. I declined to adopt the view that what was imperatively necessary for the Nation could not be done by the President unless he could find some specific authorization to do it. My belief was that it was not only his right but his duty to do anything that the needs of the Nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws. Under this interpretation of executive power I did and caused to be done many things not previously done by the President and the heads of the departments. I did not usurp power, but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power. In other words, I acted for the public welfare, I acted for the common well-being of all our people, whenever and in whatever manner was necessary, unless prevented by direct constitutional or legislative prohibition.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Autobiography, ch. 10 “The Presidency” (1913)
(Source)

Hoover, Herbert -- Letter to George Moses (14 Jun 1928)

Dave — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 18:16:04 +0000

You convey too great a compliment when you say that I have earned the right to the presidential nomination. No man can establish such an obligation upon any part of the American people. My country owes me no debt. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope. My whole life has taught me what America means. I am indebted to my country beyond any human power to repay.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) American engineer, bureaucrat, US President (1929-33)
Letter to George Moses (14 Jun 1928)

When learning of his nomination for President; Moses was the chairman of the Republican National Convention.

Truman, Harry S -- In Merle Miller, Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, ch. 15 (1973)

Dave — Tue, 31 May 2016 14:05:56 +0000

You see the thing you have to remember. When you get to be President, there are all those things, the honors, the twenty-one-gun salutes, all those things. You have to remember it isn’t for you. It’s for the Presidency, and you’ve got to keep yourself separate from that in your mind. If you can’t keep the two separate, yourself and the Presidency, you’re in all kinds of trouble.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
In Merle Miller, Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, ch. 15 (1973)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 24 May 2016 13:56:33 +0000

Yes, Haven, most of us enjoy preaching, and I’ve got such a bully pulpit!

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
(Attributed)

In George Haven Putnam, The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, Vol. 9, Introduction (1926). Roosevelt's reply when, during his first presidential term, Putnam accused him of tending to preach to people.

Ace, Goodman -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 14:02:31 +0000

For a candidate to spend millions of dollars during the primaries to win a job that pays only $100,000 a year, doesn’t bode well for the citizens’ hopes of electing a man to this high office whose knowledge of economics will balance our national budget.

Goodman Ace (1899-1982) American humorist [b. Goodman Aiskowitz]
(Attributed)

Taft, William -- Speech, Lotus Club (16 Nov 1912)

Dave — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:10:15 +0000

The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) US President (1909-13) and Chief Justice (1921-1930)
Speech, Lotus Club (16 Nov 1912)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, American Newspaper Publishers Association (27 Apr 1961)

Dave — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 12:37:20 +0000

No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, American Newspaper Publishers Association (27 Apr 1961)
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Greater Houston Ministerial Association (12 Sep 1960)

Dave — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 12:41:40 +0000

That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe — a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Greater Houston Ministerial Association (12 Sep 1960)
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Proclamation 3489, “Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States” (1964-04-30)

Dave — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:02:46 +0000

The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Proclamation 3489, “Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States” (1964-04-30)
(Source)

On the 175th anniversary of George Washington taking the first oath of office as President.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Quoted in Leo Janos, “The Last Days of the President: LBJ in Retirement,” Atlantic Monthly (1973-07)

Dave — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:28:08 +0000

I once told Nixon that the Presidency is like being a jackass caught in a hail storm. You’ve got to just stand there and take it.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Quoted in Leo Janos, “The Last Days of the President: LBJ in Retirement,” Atlantic Monthly (1973-07)
(Source)

Wilson, Woodrow -- Letter to Arthur Brisbane (25 Apr 1917)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:50:48 +0000

I can imagine no greater disservice to the country than to establish a system of censorship that would deny to the people of a free republic like our own their indisputable right to criticize their own public officials. While exercising the great powers of the office I hold, I would regret in a crisis like the one through which we are now passing to lose the benefit of patriotic and intelligent criticism.

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) US President (1913-20), educator, political scientist
Letter to Arthur Brisbane (25 Apr 1917)

Three weeks after the US entered WW I.

Steinbeck, John -- “America and Americans” (1966)

Dave — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:40:15 +0000

The President must be greater than anyone else, but not better than anyone else. We subject him and his family to close and constant scrutiny and denounce them for things that we ourselves do every day. A Presidential slip of the tongue, a slight error in judgment — social, political, or ethical — can raise a storm of protest. We give the President more work than a man can do, more responsibility than a man should take, more pressure than a man can bear. We abuse him often and rarely praise him. We wear him out, use him up, eat him up. And with all this, Americans have a love for the President that goes beyond loyalty or party nationality; he is ours, and we exercise the right to destroy him.

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
“America and Americans” (1966)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Letter (1848-02-15) to William H. Herndon

Dave — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:13:41 +0000

Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you shall allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure. Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect. If to-day he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, “I see no probability of the British invading us”; but he will say to you, “Be silent: I see it if you don’t.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Letter (1848-02-15) to William H. Herndon
(Source)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech (1961-01-09), Massachusetts legislature, Boston

Dave — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:35:52 +0000

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us — recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state — our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:
First, were we truly men of courage — with the courage to stand up to one’s enemies — and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one’s associates — the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?
Secondly, were we truly men of judgment — with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past — of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others — with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it.
Third, were we truly men of integrity — men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us — men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?
Finally, were we truly men of dedication — with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?
Courage — judgment — integrity — dedication — these are the historic qualities […] which, with God’s help […] will characterize our Government’s conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech (1961-01-09), Massachusetts legislature, Boston
(Source)

Given as US President-elect. The reference is to Luke 12:48.

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Greater Houston Ministerial Association (12 Sep 1960)

Dave — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:49:02 +0000

Whatever issue may come before me as President — on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject — I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise. But if the time should ever come — and I do not concede any conflict to be even remotely possible — when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Greater Houston Ministerial Association (12 Sep 1960)
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1863-09-30) to the Missouri Committee of Seventy

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I desire to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1863-09-30) to the Missouri Committee of Seventy
(Source)

A committee of seventy "Radical Union Men of Missouri," selected by a state convention, visited Lincoln in the White House, demanding immediate abolition of slavery in the border states, the recruitment of Black soldiers to the Union Army, and that action be taken regarding the factional conflicts (Radicals vs Conservatives) stirred up by the state governor and the US military governor overseeing the state militia. This was Lincoln's concluding remark in reply to the committee's petition.

This was not a prepared speech, so there is no "official" version. These words were later reported by Enos Clarke, one of the committee members, as recorded in Ida Tarbell's The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1895). Tarbell's book was a best-seller, and the quotation is usually given as above.

However, Clarke's report as recorded by Walter Stevens in the Missouri State Historical Society book Lincoln and Missouri (1916) is a bit different:

It is my ambition and desire to so administer the affairs of the government while I remain President that if at the end I shall have lost every other friend on earth I shall at least have one friend remaining and that one shall be down inside of me.

The difference between the two may be between different instances across the years of Clarke reporting on Lincoln's comments. Neither Tarbell nor Stevens give notes as to when and where their statements from Clarke derive.

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-09-26), “Economy in Government,” Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

You know in America any boy may become President and I suppose it’s just one of the risks he takes!

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-09-26), “Economy in Government,” Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis
(Source)

Sometimes quoted as: "In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take."

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1796-12-27) to Edward Rutledge

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I know well that no man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1796-12-27) to Edward Rutledge
(Source)

On the Presidency.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him in so far as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth — whether about the President or about any one else.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Essay (1918-05), “Lincoln and Free Speech,” Metropolitan Magazine, Vol. 47, No. 6
(Source)

On war-time censorship by the Wilson Administration taken against critics of its handling of war efforts.

Reprinted in Appendix C of his The Great Adventure (1918), and as ch. 7 of that book in Vol. 21 of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt (1925), The Great Adventure.

See also Roosevelt and Roosevelt.