Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.

Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.

The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.

Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.

We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.

We know where they are [Iraq's weapons of mass destruction]. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.

We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead.

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.

Look for what's missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what's proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn't there.

The inevitable slip of time weighted on a man's soul.

I have a line of clothing at J.C. Penney's... and I'm lucky to be affiliated.

This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything.

Never ever do business with the government. Be in love with them, never marry them.

I do like to keep my private life to myself. But then again, I don't really get up to much.

There's nothing to fear but fear itself. It's an illusion of fear. Fear is an illusion. If you gonna die, you gonna die anyway; it's not something to fear, fear is not gonna help.

First of all, war is a very, very difficult thing to deal with, even on the good days.

Life is not a popularity contest

No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein.