Quotes from Bob Riley

In a time of tight budgets, difficult choices have to be made. We must make sure our very limited resources are spent on priorities. I believe we should have no higher priority than investing in our children's classrooms and in their future.

If my house is on fire, I don't need the fire chief telling me I should not have built the house out of wood. I need somebody to put the fire out.

No two wars are ever the same. Some are just, some are unjust, but the basic commonality shared between them all is that young men and women heeded a call to service, overcame their fear, and fought for their side.

Government does not create jobs. It only helps create the conditions that make jobs more or less likely.

Half a world away nations that once lived under oppression and tyranny are now budding democracies due in large part to America 's leadership and the sacrifices of our military.

The opponents of my budget propose taking $200 million out of our classrooms and instead spending it on a larger school employee pay raise. Our focus should be on making sure our children come first.

The men and women who serve in our military have won for us every hour we live in freedom, sometimes at the expense of the very hours of the lifetimes they had hoped to live.

God looked down on this country because this country was founded on the rock and that rock was our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And when the storms came and the rains came, the rock, it did not move. But over the last 15 or 20 years, something began to erode.

There is no longer time for statements like 'if only' or 'we can't.' We must and we will succeed. The only question now is how and when. I believe the time is now.

Perseverance is a virtue that cannot be understated.

The amount of money we spend on education is important, but not nearly as important as how the money is spent.

Ladies and gentlemen: There can be no greater investment in Alabama's future than an investment in education.

The fight for reform comes down to a simple goal: giving our citizens the confidence that government serves the people first and the people only.