I don't think that a leader can control, to any great extent, his destiny. Very seldom can he step in and change the situation if the forces of history are running in another direction.

• In the television age, the key distinction is between the candidate who can speak poetry and the one who can only speak prose.
• Don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects.
• You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing. But the mark of the good loser is that he takes his anger out on himself and not his victorious opponents or on his teammates.
• What starts the process, really, are laughs and slights and snubs when you are a kid. If your anger is deep enough and strong enough, you learn that you can change those attitudes by excellence, personal gut performance.
• Remember, always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.
• I've analyzed the best I can... and I have not found an impeachable offense, and therefore resignation is not an acceptable course.
• Politics would be a helluva good business if it weren't for the goddamned people.
• I reject the cynical view that politics is a dirty business.
• Any change is resisted because bureaucrats have a vested interest in the chaos in which they exist.
• In the long term we can hope that religion will change the nature of man and reduce conflict. But history is not encouraging in this respect. The bloodiest wars in history have been religious wars.