Quotes from Ronald Reagan

The distance between the present system and our proposal is like comparing the distance between a Model T and the space shuttle. And I should know I've seen both.

The little dictator who went to Moscow in his green fatigues to receive a bear hug did not forsake the doctrine of Lenin when he returned to the West and appeared in a two-piece suit. (On Daniel Ortega Saavedra)

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'

The Soviet Union would remain a one-party nation even if an opposition party were permitted-because everyone would join that party.

The thought of being president frightens me. I do not think I want the job.

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.

The vote on the Peacekeeper is also a vote on Geneva. Rejecting the Peacekeeper will knock the legs out from under the negotiating table. (On importance of the MX missile)

The war in Vietnam threatened to tear our society apart, and the political and philosophical disagreements that separated each side continue, to some extent. It's been said that these memorials reflect a hunger for healing.

The White House is the leakiest place I've ever been in. (On special measures to ensure secrecy of plans to bomb Libya)

There were so many candidates on the platform that there were not enough promises to go around.

These young Americans sent a message to terrorists everywhere ... You can run but you can't hide. (On US pilots who captured four terrorists)

They don't worship at the altar of forced busing and mandatory quotas. They don't believe you can remedy past discrimination by mandating new discrimination. (Defending his nominees for Civil Rights Commission)

This administration is totally colorblind.

Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.

Today we have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again.

We can not play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent.

We have the means to change the laws we find unjust or onerous. We cannot, as citizens, pick and choose the laws we will or will not obey. (On dismissing 12,000 striking air traffic controllers)

We know that this mad dog of the Middle East has a goal of a world revolution. (On Muammar Qaddafi of Libya)

We seek a constitutional amendment to permit voluntary school prayer. God should never have been expelled from America's classrooms in the first place.

You can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit.

You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.

You know, it was only a generation ago that actors couldn't be buried in the churchyard.

Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.

I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.