Bill Clinton Quotes

William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to the presidency, he was the Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was ideologically a New Democrat and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy.

Clinton was born and raised in Arkansas and attended Georgetown University, the University of Oxford, and Yale Law School. He met Hillary Rodham at Yale and married her in 1975. After graduating from Yale, Clinton returned to Arkansas and won election as the Attorney General of Arkansas, serving from 1977 to 1979. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the state's education system and served as chairman of the National Governors Association. Clinton was elected president in 1992, defeating incumbent Republican opponent George H. W. Bush. At age 46, he became the third-youngest president and the first from the Baby Boomer generation.

Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history and signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement, but failed to pass his plan for national health care reform. In the 1994 elections, the Republican Party won unified control of the Congress for the first time in 40 years. In 1996, Clinton became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be elected to a second full term. Clinton passed welfare reform and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as financial deregulation measures, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. In 1998, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for matters related to a scandal that involved White House employee Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in 1999 and proceeded to complete his term in office. During the last three years of Clinton's presidency, the Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus, the first such surplus since 1969. In foreign policy, Clinton ordered U.S. military intervention in the Bosnian and Kosovo wars, signed the Iraq Liberation Act in opposition to Saddam Hussein, and participated in the 2000 Camp David Summit to advance the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.

Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II, and he has continually received high ratings in public opinion polls of U.S. presidents. Since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address international causes, such as the prevention of AIDS and global warming. He has remained active in politics by campaigning for Democratic candidates, including his wife's presidential campaigns and Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. In 2004, Clinton published his autobiography, My Life. In 2009, Clinton was named the United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti and after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, he teamed with George W. Bush to form the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

✵ 19. August 1946
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My Life
My Life
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton: 99   quotes 6   likes

Famous Bill Clinton Quotes

“from Bill Clinton speech-
People are more impressed by the power of our example rather than the example of our power…”

2000s
Variant: The world has always been more impressed by the power of our [America's] example than by the example of our power.
Context: Former U. S. president Bill Clinton has urged newspaper editors to focus more attention on the depletion of the world's oil reserves. In a June 17 speech to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies convention in Little Rock, Arkansas, Clinton said a "significant number of petroleum geologists" have warned that the world could be nearing the peak in oil production. Clinton suggested that at current consumption rates (now more than 30 billion barrels per year, according to the International Energy Agency), the world could be out of "recoverable oil" in 35 to 50 years, elevating the risk of "And then finally, and I think most important of all, more important than the deficit, more important then healthcare, more important than anything, is we have got to do something about our energy strategy because if we permit the climate to continue to warm at an unsustainable rate, and if we keep on doing what we're doing 'til we're out of oil and we haven't made the transition, then it's inconceivable to me that our children and grandchildren will be able to maintain the American way of life and that the world won't be much fuller of resource-based wars of all kinds.”

Bill Clinton Quotes about people

“[Iraq is] not Vietnam, we have a government that has a support of the majority of the people.”

Late Show with David Letterman, June 16, 2005
2000s

“I have met all the most gifted people in our generation and you're the best.”

To Hillary Rodham Clinton when they both attended Yale University, repeated in a 2007 campaign speech. http://economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9904609
2000s

Bill Clinton: Trending quotes

“When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans, it was assumed that the Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly.”

Television interview on MTV's Enough is Enough (19 April 1994) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=49995
1990s
Context: When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans, it was assumed that the Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly. That is, when we set up this country, abuse of people by Government was a big problem. So if you read the Constitution, it's rooted in the desire to limit the ability of — Government's ability to mess with you, because that was a huge problem. It can still be a huge problem. But it assumed that people would basically be raised in coherent families, in coherent communities, and they would work for the common good, as well as for the individual welfare.

“I end tonight where it all began for me: I still believe in a place called Hope.”

"A Place Called Hope" (July 16, 1992)
1990s, A Place Called Hope (16 July 1992)

Bill Clinton Quotes

“Everytime you cut off somebody else's opportunity you shrink your own horizon”

Bill Clinton on why he helps other people. http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/z4m9xu/colbert-galactic-initiative---bill-clinton-pt--1, August 2013
2010s
Context: I want to leave my daughter, and my grandchildren I hope to have and all these young people, a better world. And I think the reason you should do things for other people at bottom is selfish. There is no real difference between selfish and selfless if you understand how the world works. We all tied together. [... ] Everytime you cut off somebody else's opportunity you shrink your own horizon.

“But this is America. There is no them; there's only us. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.”

"A Place Called Hope" (July 16, 1992)
1990s, A Place Called Hope (16 July 1992)
Context: It is time to heal America. And so we must say to every American: Look beyond the stereotypes that blind us. We need each other. All of us, we need each other. We don't have a person to waste. And yet for too long politicians have told the most of us that are doing all right that what's really wrong with America is the rest of us. Them. Them, the minorities. Them, the liberals. Them, the poor. Them, the homeless. Them, the people with disabilities. Them, the gays. We've gotten to where we've nearly "them"ed ourselves to death. Them and them and them. But this is America. There is no them; there's only us. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.

“We need each other. All of us, we need each other. We don't have a person to waste.”

"A Place Called Hope" (July 16, 1992)
1990s, A Place Called Hope (16 July 1992)
Context: It is time to heal America. And so we must say to every American: Look beyond the stereotypes that blind us. We need each other. All of us, we need each other. We don't have a person to waste. And yet for too long politicians have told the most of us that are doing all right that what's really wrong with America is the rest of us. Them. Them, the minorities. Them, the liberals. Them, the poor. Them, the homeless. Them, the people with disabilities. Them, the gays. We've gotten to where we've nearly "them"ed ourselves to death. Them and them and them. But this is America. There is no them; there's only us. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.

“There is no real difference between selfish and selfless”

Bill Clinton on why he helps other people. http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/z4m9xu/colbert-galactic-initiative---bill-clinton-pt--1, August 2013
2010s
Context: I want to leave my daughter, and my grandchildren I hope to have and all these young people, a better world. And I think the reason you should do things for other people at bottom is selfish. There is no real difference between selfish and selfless if you understand how the world works. We all tied together. [... ] Everytime you cut off somebody else's opportunity you shrink your own horizon.

“Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind together.”

Second inaugural address (January 20, 1997)
1990s
Context: Our rich texture of racial, religious and political diversity will be a Godsend in the 21st century. Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind together.

“We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.”

State of the Union address http://millercenter.org/president/clinton/speeches/speech-3440 (24 January 1995)
1990s
Context: All Americans, not only in the States most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That's why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens. In the budget I will present to you, we will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace as recommended by the commission headed by former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.

“Criticism is part of the lifeblood of democracy. No one is right all the time. But we should remember that there is a big difference between criticizing a policy or a politician and demonizing the government that guarantees our freedoms and the public servants who enforce our laws.”

Writing on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing

2010s
Context: p>Americans have more freedom and broader rights than citizens of almost any other nation in the world, including the capacity to criticize their government and their elected officials. But we do not have the right to resort to violence — or the threat of violence — when we don’t get our way. Our founders constructed a system of government so that reason could prevail over fear. Oklahoma City proved once again that without the law there is no freedom.Criticism is part of the lifeblood of democracy. No one is right all the time. But we should remember that there is a big difference between criticizing a policy or a politician and demonizing the government that guarantees our freedoms and the public servants who enforce our laws.</p

“I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are, when you set them off, innocent people will die.”

At a Labour Party conference in the UK, quoted in The Independent. "Clinton urges caution over Iraq as Bush is granted war powers" (3 October 2002) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/clinton-urges-caution-over-iraq-as-bush-is-granted-war-powers-607775.html
2000s
Context: A preemptive action today, however well-justified, may come back with unwelcome consequences in the future. And because … I've done this. I've ordered these kinds of actions — I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are, when you set them off, innocent people will die.

“It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.”

Grand jury testimony (August 17, 1998), answering questions about his attorney's description of an affidavit by Monica Lewinsky
1990s
Context: It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. … Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true.

“A preemptive action today, however well-justified, may come back with unwelcome consequences in the future.”

At a Labour Party conference in the UK, quoted in The Independent. "Clinton urges caution over Iraq as Bush is granted war powers" (3 October 2002) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/clinton-urges-caution-over-iraq-as-bush-is-granted-war-powers-607775.html
2000s
Context: A preemptive action today, however well-justified, may come back with unwelcome consequences in the future. And because … I've done this. I've ordered these kinds of actions — I don't care how precise your bombs and your weapons are, when you set them off, innocent people will die.

“It’s a great thing about not being office—you can just say whatever you want.”

Bill Clinton on Libya, Peter King, and more http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/03/11/bill-clinton-on-libya-peter-king-and-more.html, March 2011.
2010s

“Piece by piece, pushing that rock up the hill.”

2010s, (July 26, 2016)

“(George H. W. Bush) won't take the lead in protecting the environment and creating new jobs in environmental technologies for the 21st century, but I will. And you know what else? He doesn't have Al Gore, and I do.”

"A Place Called Hope," speech to the 1992 Democratic National Convention accepting the Democratic nomination for President (July 16, 1992)
1990s, A Place Called Hope (16 July 1992)

“Now, I have to go back to work on my State of the Union speech. And I worked on it until pretty late last night. I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time, never. These allegations are false, and I need to go back to work for the American people.”

Clinton denying that he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSDAXGXGiEw.
Remarks on the After-School Child Care Initiative, Roosevelt Room, White House Remarks on the After-School Child Care Initiative http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=56257 (January 26, 1998)
1990s

“People like you always help the far-right, because you like to hurt people, and you like to talk about how bad people are and all their personal failings.”

On the emphasis in the news media on the Starr investigation and the Lewinsky affair (June 22, 2004) Panorama interview http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3829799.stm
2000s

“If a politician doesn't wanna get beat up, he shouldn't run for office. If a football player doesn't want to get tackled or want the risk of an a occasional clip he shouldn't put the pads on.”

March 26, 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20090224042117/http://www.salon.com/5things/2008/03/26/bill_clinton_saddle_
2000s

“What are the needs of the world? What can I do that won't be done if I don't do it?”

ABC Primetime Live interview during opening of his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., November 2004
2000s

“Strength and wisdom are not opposing values.”

In support of John Kerry at the Democratic National Convention, Boston, MA, July 26, 2004
2000s

“Webb, if I put you over at Justice I want you to find the answers to two questions for me. One, who killed JFK? And two, are there UFOs?”

To Webster Hubbell during his interview for Attorney General, 1992, according to Hubbell's book Friends in High Places (1997) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_n2_v22/ai_20562397/
Attributed

“I felt like a pickle stepping into history.”

During the unveiling of his official portrait in the East Room of the White House http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1464584/Bill-Clinton-back-in-big-picture-for-unveiling-of-his-portrait.html (June 14, 2004)
2000s

“There's never a perfect bipartisan bill in the eyes of a partisan.”

The Economist, December 18, 2010, p. 74
2010s

“End welfare as we know it.”

Statement during 1992 US presidential campaign http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/Welfare/Accomp.html http://www.cnn.com/US/9608/22/welfare/ http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/Publications/html/briefs/iii-8.html http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/New/html/19990803.html
1990s

“A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.”

Remarks allegedly made about Barack Obama to Ted Kennedy in 2008, as quoted in Game Change : Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime (2010) in John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
Attributed

“When I was in England I experimented with marijuana a time or two -- and didn't like it -- and didn't inhale and never tried inhaling again.”

Television interview (March 1992), quoted in the New York Times (31 March 1992) realone audio file http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/ididntinhale.rm
1990s

“I ran upstairs to see my wife, we literally just sat there and held each other for, like, 20 minutes.”

In an interview aired 20 years after assassination of Yitzhak Rabin http://www.timesofisrael.com/clinton-i-really-loved-rabin-and-he-would-have-made-peace/ (27 October 2015).
2010s

“Private citizens have more power to do public good and solve common problems than ever before in human history.”

Made that statement during a conference in Ottawa, Canada, in March 2006. He concluded that a trend of international goodwill has been developing since the 2004 tsunami and said, with a hint of optimism, that the world is now at “a time of unprecedented interdependence.”
Source: JW.org http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2007361?q=clinton&p=par
2000s

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