“I confess to wincing every so often at a poorly chosen word, a mangled sentence, an expression of emotion that seems indulgent or overly practiced. I have the urge to cut the book by fifty pages or so, possessed as I am with a keener appreciation for brevity.”
Thoughtful feeling
Thoughtful Quotes — page 188 of 303
“I don't think marriage is a civil right, but I think that being able to transfer property is a civil right.”
“I was reminded that it is my obligation not only as an elected official in a pluralistic society, but also as a Christian, to remain open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided.”
“Over the last several days, we have heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard. I absolutely agree.”
“I use a different style if I'm speaking to a big crowd; I can gin up folks pretty well. But when I'm in these town hall settings, my job is not to throw them a lot of red meat. I want to give them a sense of my thought process.”
“I might have arguments with the size of Reagan's military buildup, but given the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, staying ahead of the Soviets militarily seemed a sensible thing to do. Pride in our country, respect for our armed services, a healthy appreciation for the dangers beyond our borders, an insistence that there was no easy equivalence between East and West--in all this I had no quarrel with Reagan. And when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, I had to give the old man his due, even if I never gave him my vote.”
“We should not anticipate that every time countries come together that we are doing some revolutionary thing. Instead of hitting home runs, sometimes we're going to hit singles.”
“I can't really characterize any country, except to say that we work well with a number of our foreign counterparts.”
“Our focus on the investigation is really wide-ranging. And we can't limit it to just one point in time.”
“I would say to people is, that investigation, as it has already been stated, is a marathon and not a sprint. But it is one of great concern to the American people. And so we're committed to keeping people informed.”
“[Michelle Obama] was the hardest sell. And she never fully embraced being in the public spotlight, which is ironic, given how good she is.”
“Michelle [Obama] never fully took to the scrutiny. I mean, she's thrived as a first lady, but it's not her preference.”
“I think that when it comes to issues of trade, I think it is important for us to be in favor of trade, but I also think it is important to make sure that we are putting in place the labor standards, the environmental standards, that are going to provide some of a fighting chance for American workers.”
“I think that the Democratic Party is a big tent, which means that there are positions I may not agree with.”
“The memoir was a very personal book. I wrote it as a personal journey and search about who my father was and how my family had come together and come apart - sorting all that out, you know, issues of personal identity.”
“I found during the course of my political career on the national scene there's a point where the vanity burns away and you've had your fill of your name in the papers, or big adoring crowds, or the exercise of power. And for me that happened fairly quickly. And then you are really focused on: What am I going to get done with this strange privilege that's been granted to me? How do I make myself worthy of it?”
“I think it's a healthy thing for the Democratic Party to go through some reflection.”
“I think I will still feel that same appreciation for what [Winston] Churchill and others have said is the worst form of government except all the alternatives.”
“I'm measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I'm on track and where I think I'm off track.”
“The one thing I've said to [Donald Trump] directly, and I would advise my Republican friends in Congress and supporters around the country, is just make sure that, as we go forward certain norms, certain institutional traditions don't get eroded, because there's a reason they're in place.”