Quotes from Joe Scarborough

Harry Truman and the United States saved the free world." Churchill's declaration that Truman saved civilization itself is perhaps the greatest tribute to the thirty-third president, a historical giant dismissed in his time as a strange, little man.

Less than eleven years before he sat behind the Oval Office desk, Harry Truman had been the presiding judge of Jackson County, concerned with road building and his county's payroll. Now he would be in charge of bringing the greatest war in history to a successful conclusion, and building a lasting peace out of the ruins of Europe and Japan.

Most Americans believed that winning two European wars in a single generation was more than should be required of American troops,

Given what we know today about Stalin's crimes against his own people, it is hard to imagine that as late as 1947, most Americans saw "Uncle Joe's" USSR as an ally. Since Germany's invasion of Russia in June 1941, the Soviet Union joined with the Allies and bore the brunt of the fighting.

Just as Churchill stood alone against Hitler's war machine in 1940, it would now be Harry Truman's government standing alone against Stalin's designs on Western Europe seven years later.

decision the president would make in 1948 would prove to be equally profound on the shape of world history when Truman decided to recognize Israel's existence following Britain's rapid withdrawal in 1948 from Palestine.

The British government briefly considered the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Uganda, to avoid antagonizing the Arabs in Palestine.

Sitting in the Oval Office, he pointed to a small statue of Andrew Jackson, one of Truman's heroes,

On his desk in the Oval Office was a sign that read, "The Buck Stops Here," and as Truman would later observe, "The President—whoever he is—has to decide. He can't pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job.

he knew that the horror of the Holocaust cried out for redress, and that only a Jewish homeland could provide safe harbor for Jews seeking shelter and safety around the world. How long would Harry Truman agonize over this fateful decision?

At six p.m., Washington time, the new state was declared in Palestine, and given the name of Israel. It could not survive without the recognition and support of the most powerful country in the world. At 6:11, the White House announced that the United States would do just that by recognizing Israel's existence. The Israeli nation was born, and America was the first to acknowledge it.

Chaim Weizmann, who not long before had slipped into the White House unseen, was to be the first president of Israel.

Spectators of life are not those who will retain their liberties nor are they likely to contribute to their country's security.

Ronald Reagan knew who he was. Barack Obama is still working through that equation politically.

I love the Upper West Side. I walk down the street all the time and am stopped by Democrats. I don't think they've ever actually met a Republican before.

For eight years Republicans worked around the clock to delegitimize Bill Clinton. For the next eight years, Democrats tried to delegitimize Bush. Now Barack Obama is enduring the rage of his conservative opposition.

I have three favorite politicians: Reagan, Truman, and Bobby Kennedy - Bobby for showing remarkable political courage despite being loathed by many on both sides.

I don't want to return to the past. I don't yearn for when I was 18 years old. I was in high school then. I had acne. I had a terrible hairdo. I'm sure I was sporting polyester pants.

Just because everybody else is engaged in a group hug with Barack Obama doesn't mean that somebody doesn't have to tell the truth.

I'm not an angry person. When I write, the lawyer in me tries to make it as easy to read as possible.

I see it all the time in politics. If a candidate gets caught in a lie, he quickly tries to change the subject by throwing more mud at his opponent. The mud keeps flying until some of the slanderous material sticks.

I support the ability of people to be able to burn the American flag if they want to. But people have the right in this country to debate it.

Unfortunately, I've gotten so conditioned, it's hard to sleep past 4 a.m.

With my hours, I don't hang out with anybody. I work and come home to my Upper West Side apartment.