It is time to realize we are too great a nation for small dreams. We’re not — as some would have us believe — doomed to an inevitable fate.

We believe faith and freedom must be our guiding stars, for they show us truth, they make us brave, give us hope, and leave us wiser than we were.

This country was founded and built by people with great dreams and the courage to take great risks. (January 26, 1983)

You are right, … We didn’t have those things when we were young. We invented them.

I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.

You can tell alot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.

What we have found in this country, and maybe we’re more aware of it now, is one problem that we’ve had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping...

It doesn’t do good to open doors for someone who doesn’t have the price to get in. If he has the price, he may not need the laws. There is no law saying the Negro...

If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals — if we were...

A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual...

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.

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.

Status quo, you know, that is Latin for ”the mess we’re in.”

Let friend and foe alike know that America has the muscle to back up its words.

The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America…our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal.

We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life — the unborn — without diminishing the value of all human life . . . there is no cause more important.

A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.

I want to talk about political and economic fairy tales

I oppose registration for the draft . . . because I believe the security of freedom can best be achieved by security through freedom.

We’re in greater danger today than we were the day after Pearl Harbor. Our military is absolutely incapable of defending this country.

It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad, and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would...

Don’t be afraid to see what you see.

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,...

I discovered that night (in his college’s student politics) that an audience has a feel to it, and, in the parlance of the theater, that audience and I were together.

…where the preservation of a natural resource like the redwoods is concerned, that there is a common sense limit. I mean, if you’ve looked at a hundred thousand acres or so of trees — you...

I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

Man is not free unless government is limited.

When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.

Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.

I was raised to believe that God has a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan.

During my first press conference as president, in answer to a direct question, I pointed out that, as good Marxist-Leninists, the Soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared that the only morality they recognize is...

The Soviet Union is an Evil Empire, and Soviet communism is the focus of evil in the modern world

Welfare’s purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.

Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.

This law gives you the power to seek the release of Wallenberg, … The law makes no distinction between honorary and other citizens.

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.

If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.

Just think how happy you’d be if you lost everything you have right now & then got it back.

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

Today, if you invent a better mousetrap, the government comes along with a better mouse.

I didn ‘ t leave the Democratic Party. It left me.

Our Constitution is to be celebrated not for being old, but for being young.

History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two world wars: It is better to be here [in Europe] ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond...

The 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.

He will be remembered not only as a pioneer in his time, but as a dominant figure in world history,

In America, our origins matter less than our destination, and that is what democracy is all about. (August 17, 1992)

I will stand on, and continue to use, the figures I have used, because I believe they are correct. Now, I’m not going to deny that you don’t now and then slip up on something;...

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.

Someday, the realm of liberty and justice will encompass the planet. Freedom is not just the birthright of the few, it is the God-given right of all His children, in every country. It won’t come...