I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right.

Our Constitution works; our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.

In the age-old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity's approval.

I cannot imagine any other country in the world where the opposition would seek, and the chief executive would allow, the dissemination of his most private and personal conversations with his staff, which, to be honest, do not exactly confer sainthood on anyone concerned.

History and experience tell us that moral progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times, but out of trial and confusion.

One of the enduring truths of the nation's capital is that bureaucrats survive.

Truth is the glue that holds government together.

I was dumbfounded by the stupidity of the Watergate break-in.

The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency.

It is good to be back in the Peoples House. But this cannot be a real homecoming. Under the Constitution, I now belong to the executive branch. The Supreme Court has even ruled that I am the executive branchhead, heart, and hand.

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

I think they ought to be treated equally. Period.

I had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am.

Never be satisfied with less than your very best effort. If you strive for the top and miss, you'll still 'beat the pack.'

Mr. President, putting it bluntly, wouldn't we just be continuing a bloodbath that already exists in Cambodia if we voted the 222 million in aid?

I had pro offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who were pretty hard up for linemen in those days. If I had gone into professional football the name Jerry Ford might have been a household word today.

I feel it is my first duty to make an unprecedented compact with my countrymen. Not an inaugural address, not a fireside chat, not a campaign speech -- just a little straight talk among friends.

I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security.

I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.

As I rejected amnesty, so I reject revenge. I ask all Americans who ever asked for goodness and mercy in their lives, who ever sought forgiveness for their trespasses, to join in rehabilitating all the casualties of the tragic conflict of the past.