Gerald R. Ford
We came from many roots, and we have many branches.Collection: Roots
Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.Collection: Taken
Let us remember that our national unity is a most priceless asset.Collection: Unity
Our Nation has a diverse and extremely rich cultural heritage. It is a source of pride and strength to millions of Americans who look to the arts for inspiration, communication and the opportunity for creative self-expression.Collection: Art
We . . . declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers.Collection: Years
One of the enduring truths of the nation's capital is that bureaucrats survive.Collection: Bureaucracy
I would like to deny all allegations by Bob Hope that during my last game of golf, I hit an eagle, a birdie, an elk and a moose.Collection: Dirty
The Declaration [of Independence] was not a protest against government, but against the excess of government. It prescribed the proper role of government, to secure the rights of individuals and to effect their safety and happiness. In modern society, no individual can do this alone. So government is not a necessary evil but a necessary good.Collection: Rights
The length of one's days matters less than the love of one's family and friends.Collection: Family And Friends
A strong defense is the surest way to peace. Strength makes detente attainable. Weakness invites war, as my generation - my generation - knows from four very bitter experiences. Just as America's will for peace is second to none, so will America's strength be second to none. We cannot rely on the forbearance of others to protect this Nation. The power and diversity of the Armed Forces, active Guard and Reserve, the resolve of our fellow citizens, the flexibility in our command to navigate international waters that remain troubled are all essential to our security.Collection: Strong
It's more like it is now than it ever has been.Collection: Has Beens
I do believe, with all my heart and mind and spirit, that I, not as President but as a humble servant of God, will receive justice without mercy if I fail to show mercy.Collection: Believe
In baseball when they say you're out, you're out. It's the same way in politics.Collection: Baseball
Sit down before facts as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion — or you shall learn nothing.Collection: Children
Our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.Collection: Work
So much of what passes for public life consists of little more than candidates without ideas, hiring consultants without conviction, to stage campaigns without content. The result, increasingly, is elections without voters.Collection: Ideas
I think they ought to be treated equally. Period.Collection: Gay
As I rejected amnesty, so I reject revenge. I ask all Americans who ever asked for goodness and mercy in their lives, who ever sought forgiveness for their trespasses, to join in rehabilitating all the casualties of the tragic conflict of the past.Collection: Revenge
This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.Collection: Hurt
For nearly two hundred years, our nation has derived its strength from the diversity of its people and of their beliefs. That strength has been greatly enhanced by [the Islamic] religious heritage.Collection: Religious
Richard Nixon... was just offered $2 million by Schick to do a television commercial - for Gillette.Collection: Television Commercials
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.Collection: Religious
A great nation cannot abandon its responsibilities. Responsibilities abandoned today return as more acute crises tomorrow.Collection: Responsibility
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.Collection: Real
In the age-old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity's approval.Collection: Courage
The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency.Collection: Lunch
Humor can help you to disagree without being disagreeable. The key in democracy is not necessarily that we agree, but that we participate....Despite all the heavy problems- domestic and international- there is humor. Humor transcends partisanship.Collection: Humor
I strongly support the feeding of children.Collection: Children
Let us put an end to self-inflicted wounds. Let us remember that our national unity is a most priceless asset. Let us deny our adversaries the satisfaction of using Vietnam to pit Americans against Americans.Collection: Self
The Constitution is the bedrock of all our freedoms; guard and cherish it; keep honor and order in your own house; and the republic will endure.Collection: Order
I don't know what the future may hold for me-or for any of us. But I want you to know that I am a man who likes having critics who are not enemies.Collection: Men
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.Collection: Powerful
Compromise is the oil that makes governments go.Collection: Oil
An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.Collection: House
The earth will continue to regenerate its life sources only as long as we and all the peoples of the world do our part to conserve its natural resources. It is a responsibility which every human being shares. Through voluntary action, each of us can join in building a productive land in harmony with nature.Collection: Nature
The harder you work, the luckier you are, and I worked like hell.Collection: Hell
The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency. Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time?Collection: Drinking
To know John Kennedy, as I did, was to understand the true meaning of the word. He understood that courage is not something to be gauged in a poll or located in a focus group. No adviser can spin it. No historian can backdate it. For, in the age old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity's approval.Collection: Focus
Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life.Collection: Government
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.Collection: Should Have
In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs, and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment of the subject.Collection: Thinking
I was dumbfounded by the stupidity of the Watergate break-in.Collection: Stupidity
There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration.... The United States does notconcede that those countries are under the domination of the Soviet Union.Collection: Country
If it is a clichй to say athletics build character as well as muscle, then I subscribe to the clich.Collection: Character
I think that sports, particularly football, gave me an opportunity to be out front, to be a leader, which helped me later on, when I got into politics.Collection: Sports
I recognize the need for technology that enriches life while preserving our natural environment. My goal is to stimulate productivity, but use technology to redeem, not to destroy our environment.Collection: Technology
The old question still remains: Can a free people restrain crime without sacrificing fundamental liberties and a heritage of compassion?Collection: Sacrifice
We have too long treated the natural world as an adversary rather than as a life-sustaining gift from the Almighty. If man has the genius to build, which he has, he must also have the ability and the responsibility to preserve.Collection: Responsibility
I know well the coequal role of the Congress in our constitutional process. I love the House of Representatives. I revere the traditions of the Senate despite my too-short internship in that great body. As President, within the limits of basic principles, my motto toward the Congress is communication, conciliation, compromise, and cooperation.Collection: Love