Top 157 Quotes & Sayings by Gerald R. Ford

I have had a lot of adversaries in my political life, but no enemies that I can remember.

For millions of men and women, the church has been the hospital for the soul, the school for the mind and the safe depository for moral ideas.

The political lesson of Watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant, elite guard of political adolescents to by-pass the regular party organization and dictate the terms of a national election.

I feel it is my first duty to make an unprecedented compact with my countrymen. Not an inaugural address, not a fireside chat, not a campaign speech - just a little straight talk among friends.

I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.

I love sports. Whenever I can, I always watch the Detroit Tigers on the radio.

If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave.

In all my public and private acts as your president, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end.

Teddy Roosevelt... once said, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick.' Jimmy Carter wants to speak loudly and carry a fly swatter.

Tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time.

Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.

The pat on the back, the arm around the shoulder, the praise for what was done right and the sympathetic nod for what wasn't are as much a part of golf as life itself.

There are no adequate substitutes for father, mother, and children bound together in a loving commitment to nurture and protect. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, can take the place of the family in the scheme of things.

I had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am.

I would hope that understanding and reconciliation are not limited to the 19th hole alone.

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.

My commitment to the security and future of Israel is based upon basic morality as well as enlightened self-interest. Our role in supporting Israel honors our own heritage.

When a man is asked to make a speech, the first thing he has to decide is what to say.

A coalition of groups is waging a massive propaganda campaign against the president of the United States. an all-out attack. Their aim is total victory for themselves and total defeat for him.

Our Constitution works; our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.

I am a Ford, not a Lincoln.

Truth is the glue that holds government together.

I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.

It's the quality of the ordinary, the straight, the square, that accounts for the great stability and success of our nation. It's a quality to be proud of. But it's a quality that many people seem to have neglected.

I cannot imagine any other country in the world where the opposition would seek, and the chief executive would allow, the dissemination of his most private and personal conversations with his staff, which, to be honest, do not exactly confer sainthood on anyone concerned.

May our former president, who brought peace to millions, find it for himself.

I watch a lot of baseball on the radio.

A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.

History and experience tell us that moral progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times, but out of trial and confusion.

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who were pretty hard up for linemen in those days. If I had gone into professional football the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today.

Things are more like today than they have ever been before.

We came from many roots, and we have many branches.

Personal excellence can be achieved by a visionary goal, through planning, dedicated execution, and total follow-through.

The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency.

There is no undertaking more challenging, no responsibility more awesome, than that of being a mother.

There is an old saying, The harder you try the luckier you get. I kind of like that definition of luck.

In a democracy, the public has a right to know not only what the government decides, but why and by what process.

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.

Richard Nixon... was just offered $2 million by Schick to do a television commercial - for Gillette.

Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life.

If compassion and mercy are not compatible with politics then something is the matter with politics.

I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government, but civilization itself.

Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them - a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.

America now is stumbling through the darkness of hatred and divisiveness. Our values, our principles, and our determination to succeed as a free and democratic people will give us a torch to light the way. And we will survive and become the stronger - not only because of a patriotism that stands for love of country, but a patriotism that stands for love of people.

The spirit of seeking understanding through personal contact with people of other nations and other cultures deserves the respect and support of all.

We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.

Ronald Regan doesn't dye his hair - he's just prematurely orange.

An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.

We are bound together by the most powerful of all ties, our fervent love for freedom and independence, which knows no homeland but the human heart.

A great nation cannot abandon its responsibilities. Responsibilities abandoned today return as more acute crises tomorrow.

Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.

I hope never to see the day that I cannot admit having made a mistake.

The American dream does not come to those who fall asleep.

We have come tardily to the tremendous task of cleaning up our environment. We should have moved with similar zeal at least a decade ago. But no purpose is served by post-mortems. With visionary zeal but the greatest realism, we must now address ourselves to the vast problems that confront us.

America needed recovery, not revenge. The hate had to be drained and the healing begun.

I believe that prayer in public schools should be voluntary. It is difficult for me to see how religious exercises can be a requirement in public schools, given our Constitutional requirement of separation of church and state. I feel that the highly desirable goal of religious education must be principally the responsibility of church and home. I do not believe that public education should show any hostility toward religion, and neither should it inhibit voluntary participation, if it does not interfere with the educational process.

Never be satisfied with less than your very best effort. If you strive for the top and miss, you'll still 'beat the pack.'

My goal is for a cooperative world at peace, using its resources to build, not to destroy.

Real assistance is to help people to help themselves. We can't do everything for everybody, but there is room for all who try to make it.