Sayeth the Gipper

Unable to shake the thoughts of this great man and what his life meant to this nation – and to the world, I bring some of the favorite Reagan quotations — feel free to add more in the comments:

“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” ~ Ronald Reagan

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it. ~ Ronald Reagan

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.” ~ Ronald Reagan, quoted in Observer, March 29 1981

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.” ~ Ronald Reagan

“Welfare’s purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.” ~Ronald Reagan – Los Angeles Times, January 7, 1970

“It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work — work with us, not over us; stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it. ” ~Ronald Reagan -First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

“It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, “We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.” This idea that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power, is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.” ~ Ronald Reagan -October 27, 1964

“You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream — the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, “The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.” ~Ronald Reagan -October 27, 1964

“This country was founded and built by people with great dreams and the courage to take great risks.” ~Ronald Reagan 1983