George H. W. Bush: Trending quotes (page 2)

“This is America: the Knights of Columbus, the Grange, Hadassah, the Disabled American Veterans, the Order of Ahepa, the Business and Professional Women of America, the union hall, the Bible study group, LULAC, "Holy Name"—a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”

George H. W. Bush

Women , Peace , Star , Business

“We must act on what we know. I take as my guide the hope of a saint: In crucial things, unity; in important things, diversity; in all things, generosity.”

George H. W. Bush

Inaugural Address (1989)

Hope

“I will never apologize for the United States of America. Ever. I don't care what the facts are.”

George H. W. Bush

Statement as Vice-president, during a presidential campaign function (2 Aug 1988); [Bush Ethnic Coalition Speech (at 42:46), C-SPAN.org, August 2, 1988, July 4, 2018, https://www.c-span.org/video/?3816-1/bush-ethnic-coalition-speech, 42:46]</ref>. Some commenters at the time saw this as a reference to the Navy warship USS Vincennes having shot down Iran Air Flight 655 on July 3, although Bush did not explicitly mention the shoot-down in the speech. The quote of the week section of Newsweek (15 August 1988) The quote of the Perspectives/Overheard section of Newsweek (15 August 1988 http://imgur.com/ieLrziL, p.15) described the quote as "George Bush, speaking to a group of Republican leaders about the accidental downing of an Iranian airliner", and in "Rally Round the Flag, Boys" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968407,00.html by Michael Kingsley in TIME magazine (12 September 1988), the quote was described as "the Vice President's reaction to the shooting down of the Iranian civilian airliner".
We must never apologize for the United States of America.
Speaking at the service club's honors banquet attended by 254 people at the Bluffs Holiday Inn, Council Bluffs, Iowa, late January 1988. "Bush Sidesteps Campaign Talk In the Bluffs" by C. David Kotok in Omaha World - Herald Omaha, Nebraska [Iowa Edition] (30 January 1988), pg. 1
"I will never apologize for the United States," the Vice President declared recently. "I will stand up for her."
"Bush, a Cautious Front-Runner Again, Avoids Attacks and Personal Campaigning" http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFD9103EF934A15751C0A96E948260 by Gerald M. Boyd in The New York Times 27 February 1988, p. 1.8.
"I'm not an apologize-for-America kind of guy."
Speaking to a women's group in Concord, NH in February 1988. Dole and Bush: Dramatic Contrast of Styles . . . Bernard Weinraub, Special to the New York Times. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: February 7, 1988. pg. A.32
If I am elected president, I will never apologize for the United States. I will strengthen her and make her a beacon of freedom and liberty!
Late April 1988, at a campaign stop at the Scranton Wilkes-Barre airport, in response to protesters of the Reagan administration's policies in Central America. Bush Vows to Attack Joblessness. Edward Power. Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa.: April 26, 1988. pg. A.8
My view, is let Mike Dukakis go around there and talk about pink slips, despair, pessimism in the United States. I'll be the guy out there talking about hope and opportunity and challenge, and the fact that the United States is the best, the fairest, the most decent nation on the face of the earth. Let them apologize for America, and let me lead her to new greatness.
Speaking to supporters in Washington D.C. May 4, 1988. Voters face clear choice, Bush says; [THIRD Edition] STAFF, WIRE REPORTS. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.: May 4, 1988. pg. 13.
"Bush, who … came of age in World War II, instinctively identified with the crew members and captain on the Vincennes. He said he would not apologize for the incident. "I will never apologize for the United States of America!" he frequently declares in campaign speeches."
"Nominees' Beliefs Grounded in 2 Views of America; Bush Is Motivated By Pragmatism, Noblesse Oblige" by David Hoffman in The Washington Post [FINAL Edition] (30 October 1988) p. a.01
"[WW II] helped formulate his view of America as a military power: clearly in the right, with no shades of gray. "I will never apologize for the United States of America", Mr. Bush has said frequently."
"The 1988 Elections Man in the News: George Herbert Walker Bush; A Victor Free to Set His Own Course" http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDB143CF93AA35752C1A96E948260 By Gerald M. Boyd in The New York Times (9 November 1988)
"And I'll be honest with you, it's a joy to serve with a president who does not apologize for the United States of America."
in his closing remarks at a Vice-Presidential debate with Geraldine Ferraro in Philadelphia, PA, in October 1984. Bush, Ferraro Clash at Civic Center CHRISTOPHER HEPP. Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pa.: October 12, 1984. pg. 3

“There are no maps to lead us where we are going, to this new world of our own making. As the world looks back to nine decades of war, of strife, of suspicion, let us also look forward—to a new century, and a new millennium, of peace, freedom and prosperity.”

George H. W. Bush

U.S. president George Bush made those comments on January 1, 1990. The Watchtower magazine; In Search of a New World Order (15 July 1991)

War , World , Peace , Freedom

“We love your adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic process.”

George H. W. Bush

Toasting Ferdinand Marcos in 1981, as quoted in "A Test for Democracy" by George Russell, Time magazine (3 February 1986); also quoted in "Understanding Some Aspects of Philippine-U.S. Relations in this Season of Peace and Goodwill" http://www.yonip.com/main/articles/understanding_some_aspects_of_ph.html (28 November 2002) by Jovito R. Salonga

Love

“Most of the money that President Clinton and I raised has not been spent yet, and it will go into reconstruction. … This is bigger than politics; this is about saving lives, and I must confess I’m getting a huge kick out of it.”

George H. W. Bush

Statements to press (20 February 2005), on serving with former political rival Bill Clinton in their efforts to raise money for tsunami recovery.

Money

“No, I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God.… I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists.”

George H. W. Bush

Attributed by atheist activist Robert I. Sherman, reporting on remarks at a public press conference Bush held at O'Hare Airport on 27 August 1987 just after announcing his candidacy for president. Initially reported soon after the incident, years afterward disputes on the accuracy of the reports arose, as indicated at "Documents at Bush Presidential Library Prove VP Bush Questioned Citizenship and Patriotism of Atheists" (1 April 2006) at RobSherman.com https://web.archive.org/web/20150102092456/http://www.robsherman.com:80/advocacy/060401a.htm. Other journalists present have neither confirmed nor contradicted Sherman's account of the exchange. Sherman cites official correspondence about the incident between Jon Garth Murra, President of American Atheists, and White House Counsel C. Boyden Gray in December 1988, as clearly documenting that this was publicly reported prior to that time, and the accuracy of the remarks not contested, though implications of them in regard to actual stances on civil rights were.
Frequently misquoted as "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots."
[1988, Fall, On the Barricades: Bush on Atheism, GALA Interim, Free Inquiry, 8, 4, 0272-0701, 16]
[1990-10-22, Do We Want Atheist Army?, Tom, Tiede, Waycross Journal-Herald, 73, 250, 3, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KltaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yUwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4651,702629]
Disputed

God , Support

“I hope to stand for a new harmony, a greater tolerance. We've come far, but I think we need a new harmony among the races in our country. And we're on a journey into a new century, and we've got to leave that tired old baggage of bigotry behind.”

George H. W. Bush

RNC acceptance speech (1988)

Hope , Thinking , Country

“You don't have to go to college to be a success … We need the people who run the offices, the people who do the hard physical work of our society.”

George H. W. Bush

Statement to the students of East Los Angeles' Garfield High School (5 May 1988)

People , Success

“My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos.”

George H. W. Bush

Quoted in Barry Hillenbrand (30 October 2000), " Global Warnings http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998337-3,00.html", Time; attributed as a 1992 remark about Bill Clinton and Al Gore

Dogs

“It's like WWE, but for smart people!”

George H. W. Bush

2008 FIRST Robotics Championship, Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia http://www.cyberfalcons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/3710-Sponsorship-Package-11-12.pdf
Post presidency

People

“I think Romney is the best choice for us.”

George H. W. Bush

Offered his support to Mitt Romney, for US presidential elections of 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/george-hw-bush-backs-romney-criticizes-gingrich/2011/12/22/gIQABTzwBP_blog.html
Post presidency

Thinking

“Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education.”

George H. W. Bush

Announcement of the America 2000 Education Strategy (18 April 1991) What Work Requires of Schools Pg 2 http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/whatwork/whatwork.pdf.

Education , Problem , Thinking

“There is nothing more fulfilling than to serve your country and your fellow citizens and to do it well. And that's what our system of self-government depends on.”

George H. W. Bush

George Bush: "Remarks to Members of the Senior Executive Service," January 26, 1989. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16628&st
Address to the Senior Executive Service (1989)

Dependency , Country

“Yet freedom is not the same as independence. Americans will not support those who seek independence in order to replace a far-off tyranny with a local despotism. They will not aid those who promote a suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred.”

George H. W. Bush

"Chicken Kiev speech" to a session of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine, (1 August 1991)

Support , Suicide , Freedom

“What is at stake is more than one small country [Kuwait], it is a big idea — a new world order where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom and the rule of law.”

George H. W. Bush

Comment on a "new world order" (29 January 1991), as quoted in The Watchtower magazine, In Search of a New World Order (15 July 1991)

World , Peace , Law , Idea

“This is an historic moment. We have in this past year made great progress in ending the long era of conflict and cold war. We have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order, a world where the rule of law, not the law of the jungle, governs the conduct of nations. When we are successful, and we will be, we have a real chance at this new world order, an order in which a credible United Nations can use its peacekeeping role to fulfill the promise and vision of the U. N.'s founders. We have no argument with the people of Iraq. Indeed, for the innocents caught in this conflict, I pray for their safety.”

George H. W. Bush

WAR IN THE GULF: THE PRESIDENT; Transcript of the Comments by Bush on the Air Strikes Against the Iraqis http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE2DF1F3AF934A25752C0A967958260 The New York Times. January 17, 1991 (NYT transcript of Bush speech from the Oval office January 16, 1991, (Eastern time) two hours after air strikes began in Iraq and Kuwait.)

War , People , World , Law

“We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons.”

George H. W. Bush

Statement http://www.snpp.com/other/articles/firstfamily.html at the 1992 Republican Convention on the animated sitcom, The Simpsons, sometimes misquoted "America needs to be a lot more like The Waltons and a lot less like The Simpsons."

Family

“This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait.”

George H. W. Bush

Remarks to reporters (5 August 1990)

“Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep", and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under those circumstances, furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-cold war world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U. N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U. S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different — and perhaps barren — outcome.”

George H. W. Bush book A World Transformed

A World Transformed (1998) by George H.W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft; also as an excerpt http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/bushsr-iraq.htm in Time Magazine in 1998.

Hostility , War , World , Hope