Roosevelt understands that there are things that are worth surrendering your career for, like defending the country against [Adolf] Hitler.

As parties began to develop around the turn of the 19th century, you had party nominees for President nominated in caucuses made up of party members in Congress.

To people who remember JFK's assassination, JFK Jr. will probably always be that boy saluting his father's coffin.

Legacy is what a president does that affects later generations.

The Founding Fathers would be sorry to see that America had become so divided and factionalized.

First of all, there's no mention of political parties in the Constitution, so you begin American history with not only no political conventions but also no parties.

Then you get to the last half of the 20th century, Americans are getting very skeptical about their leaders and their institutions, and another place that is affected is parties and conventions.

I'm defining [presidential courage] pretty narrowly. It's not only taking a big political risk but it's also the risk that in the hindsight of history, people think it's wise.

Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer to, say, the one we had in the 1960s.

We [the United States] are the world's only superpower right now, so everyone notices every bit of what we do or don't do.

You don't say that for a senator to be a great senator he has to vote against his constituency.

you're not a bad person because you want to be yourself.

To seek greatness outside yourself is turn your back on the treasure within.

You have seen after Katrina just what failures there are in American Society.

And painefull pleasure turnes to pleasing paine.

When our thoughts - which bring actions - are filled with hate against anyone, Negro or white, we are in a living hell. That is as real as hell will ever be.

I've always been profoundly ambivalent about fame. I think it just eats the reality out of you and it can be intoxicating because I like some of it.

Our self-love can be resigned to the sacrifice of everything but itself.

So you want to be married, oh baby, trying to put me on a chain, ain't that some shame? You must be losing your weak little mind.

Never run after you own hat - others will be delighted to do it; why spoil their fun?

I feel there must be an enormous amount of really talented songwriters out there who can't sing.