J.M. Bush Quotes

I feel a special kinship with our military personnel, veterans, and their families. After all, two of my decisions sent them into harm's way.

I'm just beginning to get a sense for ways I can use golf - or perhaps mountain biking at some point in time - to stay focused on causes that are dear to my heart.

I don't want to be in the press.

There's a lot that I want to accomplish.

I believe that freedom is a gift from an Almighty to every man, woman, and child; that is a principle that was important to me during my presidency and I think it's an important principle.

Markets are the best way to allocate resources.

All human life is precious.

I worry about protectionists, which is another way of saying less competition, less trade around the world. And I view those as twins of negativity.

How do you measure whether or not a strategy of economic growth that is articulated by a very smart, capable economist actually yields growth? You can't. But you can influence.

I would like to remembered as President as somebody who did not compromise principles in order to try to be loved or liked.

Some people are going to like the decisions I made, some people are not going to like the decisions that I made. That's just the way it is.

If someone came to me and said, "Your strategy in your post-presidency is brilliant," as if I had figured out a way to make me look better, to me, that analysis is amusing.

Bill Clinton and I are friends; we see each other on the speaking circuit. He likes to be visible. I don't. And I draw no judgment either way.

What ends up happening is people form images and the image they form is, in some ways, what they want it to be. The idea of trying to correct the image is something I'm not interested in doing.

I'm comfortable with time. Time will change.

Perceptions change with time and you can't rush it, in my judgment.

I'm uncomfortable trying to rush change of perception, except to the extent that I'm going to write a book.

If you are young child and you've lost mother and dad to AIDS and rich nations sit on the sidelines not caring, you will become a frustrated person and a hopeless person.

1992 was the worst year of my life, to watch my dad lose. It was a painful experience. Yet when I became president, it was so much easier to be president.

It was much easier for me to endure the belittling than it was to watch my dad get belittled.

I think all presidents should take the long view of history.

As I look back over my life, I've been an active person - obviously I was self-absorbed for a period of time.

I really don't want to in the press, genuinely don't want to be in the press.

I don't think it's good for America to have a former president undermine a current president.

Golf is something I love. It's been a part of my family's history.

I hope that's what the taxpayers of Great Britain expect, is expect us to, when we make investments in countries, that they work. And they don't work if a nation doesn't invest in its people.

As Gerhard Schröder said in the Oval Office, a democratic Iraq is important not only to Germany, but to Europe, and he's right.

Foreign fighters are travelling into Iraq to make it a front line in the war on terror. And I would rather defeat them there than face them in our own country.

These aren't joyous times when we have war in Iraq. These are challenging times, and they're difficult times, and they're straining the psyche of our country. I understand that.

The cornerstone of our policy in that part of the world is to help democracies. Lebanon's a democracy. We want the Siniora government to succeed.

I'm playing golf. I ride my mountain bike. A lot. I think it's very important for me and other people my age to continue to exercise.

I'm also combining my love of outdoors with my desire to help others.

I teamed up with the PGA of America to help promote a weekend of golf that raises scholarship money for kids who lost a parent or whose parent was severely wounded in combat.

Having purpose. I had purpose during my presidency, and I've got purpose after my presidency.

I've got a dad who jumps out of an airplane.

Hopefully I'm not a grumpy old guy sitting in the corner, yelling at people and demanding things.

I'm just beginning to live the next chapter of my life. In other words, politics - being governor and president - is not the end of my life. It's a chapter.

I think you ought to be open-minded as to where life takes you.

If I look back to when I was 20 and somebody said you'd be president, I would have said no way.

I ended up being the 43rd president of the United States. It was an awesome experience, and I'm glad I did it.

I'm comfortable with how I lived my life as the president.

I made friends during my presidency.

One thing you had to learn [after the presidency] was that you no longer had the sense of responsibility that became ingrained in your system.

For me, I learned from my father that when it's over, it's over.

I view my time in politics as a chapter, not my life.

I'm forever a former president and I understand that, but at this point in my post-presidency, I don't want to be involved with politics.

I don't want to interfere with my successor's presidency.

[My father] taught me (at least he showed me) a dignified way to be a former president is that once you're off the stage, you're off the stage.

When you're writing about something that happened, it helps you transition to the present.

I'm a content person and I'm content knowing that I gave it my all when I was president.