Famous Ronald Reagan Quotations

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"I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace: to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete."
by Ronald Reagan
"My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes."
by Ronald Reagan
"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."
by Ronald Reagan
"The Democrats say that the United States has had its days in the sun, that our nation has passed its zenith. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view."
by Ronald Reagan
"The taxpayer -- that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."
by Ronald Reagan
"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do."
by Ronald Reagan
"Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders."
by Ronald Reagan
"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much."
by Ronald Reagan
"We might come closer to balancing the Budget if all of us lived closer to the Commandments and the Golden Rule."
by Ronald Reagan
"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."
by Ronald Reagan
"Being free and prosperous in a world at peace. That's our ultimate goal."
by Ronald Reagan
"But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret."
by Ronald Reagan
"It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?"
by Ronald Reagan
"Politics is just like show business. You have a hell of an opening, coast for a while, and then have a hell of a close."
by Ronald Reagan
"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong."
by Ronald Reagan
"If the federal government had been around when the Creator was putting His hand to this state, Indiana wouldn't be here. It'd still be waiting for an environmental impact statement."
by Ronald Reagan
"I hope you're all Republicans."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
by Ronald Reagan
"He was a great big garrulous guy who was very serious about his politics and very serious about Ronald Reagan. He was sort of the keeper of the flame."
by Michael Deaver
"The thought of being President frightens me and I do not think I want the job."
by Ronald Reagan
"I've often said there's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse."
by Ronald Reagan
"[The most effective president, he told Forbes magazine 11 months ago, was Harry Truman, because] everybody who worked for him worshiped him because he was absolutely trustworthy. ... His great strength was not charisma, as is commonly thought, but his awareness and acceptance of exactly what he could do and what he could not do."
by Ronald Reagan
"A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane, and smells like Cheetah"
by Ronald Reagan
"A people free to choose will always choose peace."
by Ronald Reagan
"A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?"
by Ronald Reagan
"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have."
by Ronald Reagan
"Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born."
by Ronald Reagan
"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk."
by Ronald Reagan
"America has begun a spiritual reawakening. Faith and hope are being restored. Americans are turning back to God. Church attendance is up. Audiences for religious books and broadcasts are growing. And I do believe that he has begun to heal our blessed land."
by President Ronald Reagan
"America's view of apartheid is simple and straightforward We believe it is wrong. We condemn it. And we are united in hoping for the day when apartheid will be no more."
by Ronald Reagan
"Anyone that's ever had their kitchen done over knows that it never gets done as soon as you wish it would."
by Ronald Reagan
"Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources."
by Ronald Reagan
"As government expands, liberty contracts"
by Ronald Reagan
"As long as there are guns, the individual that wants a gun for a crime is going to have one and going to get it. The only person who's going to be penalized and have difficulty is the law-abiding citizen, who then cannot have it if he wants protection-the protection of a weapon in his home, for home protection."
by Ronald Reagan
"Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement."
by Ronald Reagan
"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty."
by Ronald Reagan
"Coersion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him."
by Ronald Reagan
"Cures were developed for which there were no known diseases. (Commenting on Congress and the federal budget, 1981)"
by Ronald Reagan
"Damn it, Pierre, what do you want me to do We'll go sit with empty chairs to get those guys back to the table. (To Pierre Trudeau, prime minister of Canada)"
by Ronald Reagan
"Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man."
by Ronald Reagan
"Democracy is not a fragile flower still it needs cultivating."
by Ronald Reagan
"Die-hard conservatives thought that if I couldn't get everything I asked for, I should jump off the cliff with the flag flying-go down in flames. No, if I can get 70 or 80 percent of what it is I'm trying to get ... I'll take that and then continue to try to get the rest in the future."
by Ronald Reagan
"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
by Ronald Reagan
"Draft registration destroys the very values that our society is committed to defending."
by Ronald Reagan
"Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known."
by Ronald Reagan
"Even Albert Einstein reportedly needed help on his 1040 form."
by Ronald Reagan
"Facts are stupid things."
by Ronald Reagan
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
by Ronald Reagan
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
by Ronald Reagan
"Four years ago we said we would invigorate our economy by giving people greater freedom and incentives to take risks and letting them keep more of what they earned. We did what we promised, and a great industrial giant is reborn."
by Ronald Reagan
"Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuous revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions"
by Ronald Reagan
"Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit."
by Ronald Reagan
"Going to college offered me the chance to play football for four more years."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem"
by Ronald Reagan
"Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no responsibility at the other."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets."
by Ronald Reagan
"Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it"
by Ronald Reagan
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it."
by Ronald Reagan
"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives."
by Ronald Reagan
"Have we the courage and the will to face up to the immorality and discrimination of the progressive tax, and demand a return to traditional proportionate taxation? by"
by Ronald Reagan
"He will be remembered not only as a pioneer in his time, but as a dominant figure in world history,"
by Ronald Reagan
"Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They're just braver five minutes longer."
by Ronald Reagan
"History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap."
by Ronald Reagan
"History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap."
by Ronald Reagan
"How can a president not be an actor?"
by Ronald Reagan
"How stands the city on this winter night?"
by Ronald Reagan
"How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin."
by Ronald Reagan
"How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin."
by Ronald Reagan
"How do you tell a communist Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin."
by Ronald Reagan
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself."
by Ronald Reagan
"I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written. I believe this because the source of our strength in the quest for human freedom is not material, but spiritual. And because it knows no limitation, it must terrify and ultimately triumph over those who would enslave their fellow men."
by Ronald Reagan
"I believe Moses was 80 when God first commissioned him for public service."
by Ronald Reagan
"I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace."
by Ronald Reagan
"I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete."
by Ronald Reagan
"I do not feel betrayed. ... He has a fine record. He is a national hero. (On Oliver L North's work)"
by Ronald Reagan
"I favour the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary."
by Ronald Reagan
"I favor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary."
by Ronald Reagan
"I had a dream the other night. I dreamed that Jimmy Carter came to me and asked why I wanted his job. I told him I didn't want his job. I want to be President"
by Ronald Reagan
"I have come to the conclusion that the 22nd Amendment limiting the presidency to two terms was a mistake. Shouldn't the people have the right to vote for someone as many times as they want to vote for him"
by Ronald Reagan
"I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting."
by Ronald Reagan
"I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress."
by Ronald Reagan
"I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers. Go ahead-make my day."
by Ronald Reagan
"I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life."
by Ronald Reagan
"I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life."
by Ronald Reagan
"I just don't think it's good for us to be run out of town. (Refusing to cancel Secretary of State visit to Moscow)"
by Ronald Reagan
"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon."
by Ronald Reagan
"I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast."
by Ronald Reagan
"I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."
by Ronald Reagan
"I think the presidency is an institution over which you have temporary custody."
by Ronald Reagan
"I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience. [Laughter and applause] If I still have time, I might add that it was Seneca or it was Cicero, I don't know which, that said, If it was not for the elders correcting the mistakes of the young, there would be no state.''"
by Ronald Reagan
"I urged the Soviet leader, Mr. Gorbachev, to send a new signal of openness to the world by tearing down that wall."
by Ronald Reagan
"I was alarmed at my doctor's report He said I was sound as a dollar."
by Ronald Reagan
"I will veto again and again until spending is brought under control."
by Ronald Reagan
"I'll be like Scarlett O'Hara-I'll think about it tomorrow."
by Ronald Reagan
"I would have voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
by Ronald Reagan


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