Gerald Ford: Trending quotes

Gerald Ford trending quotes. Read the latest quotes in collection
Gerald Ford: 180 quotes1 like

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim that all authority conferred by Executive Order 9066 terminated upon the issuance of Proclamation 2714, which formally proclaimed the cessation of hostilities of World War II on December 31, 1946.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, Proclamation 4417 (1976)

“He's the smartest guy in Congress, but he insists on voting his conscience instead of party.”

Gerald Ford

Remarks about John B. Anderson in 1973, later quoted in an Anderson 1980 Presidential campaign ad http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980/john-anderson <br class="br">1970s

“Obviously, it's a great privilege and pleasure to be here at the Yale Law School Sesquicentennial Convocation. And I defy anyone to say that and chew gum at the same time.”

Gerald Ford

Address at Yale Law School&#x27;s 150th anniversary (25 April 1975) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4869 <br class="br">1970s

“(Gail A. Cobb) has our lasting admiration for the cause of law enforcement and the well-being of our society, a cause for which she made the highest sacrifice.”

Gerald Ford

Conference of the International Association of Police Chiefs http://www.mcjackie.com/cobb.html (24 September 1974). <br class="br">1970s

“As a man of the Congress, let me reaffirm my conviction that the collective wisdom of our two great legislative bodies, while not infallible, will in the end serve the people faithfully and very, very well.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, First Vice-Presidential address (1973)

“The length of one's days matters less than the love of one's family and friends.”

Gerald Ford

Statement just before becoming the longest lived U.S. President as quoted in &quot;Ford eclipses Reagan as oldest ex-president&quot; in USA Today (10 November 2006) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-11-10-ford_x.htm <br class="br">2000s

“There are no adequate substitutes for father, mother, and children bound together in a loving commitment to nurture and protect. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, can take the place of the family in the scheme of things.”

Gerald Ford

Speech to the International Eucharistic Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as quoted in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner (13 August 1976)
1970s

“It's the quality of the ordinary, the straight, the square, that accounts for the great stability and success of our nation. It's a quality to be proud of. But it's a quality that many people seem to have neglected.”

Gerald Ford

As quoted by TIME magazine (28 January 1974)
1970s

“For millions of men and women, the church has been the hospital for the soul, the school for the mind and the safe depository for moral ideas.”

Gerald Ford

Speech to the International Eucharistic Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as quoted in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner (13 August 1976)
1970s

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

Gerald Ford

Presidential address to a joint session of Congress (12 August 1974)
Ford has also been quoted as having made a similar statement many years earlier, as a representative to the US Congress: "If the government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have."
"If Elected, I Promise…" : Stories and Gems of Wisdom by and About Politicians (1960) p. 193
Similar assertions have often been attributed to Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. Some of the inspiration for such expressions may lie in "The Criminality of the State" by Albert Jay Nock in American Mercury (March 1939) where he stated: "You get the same order of criminality from any State to which you give power to exercise it; and whatever power you give the State to do things for you carries with it the equivalent power to do things to you."
1970s, Address to Congress (12 August 1974)

“On the higher plane of public morality, there is no need for me to preach tonight. We have thousands of far better preachers and millions of sacred scriptures to guide us on the path of personal right-living and exemplary official conduct. If we can make effective and earlier use of moral and ethical wisdom of the centuries in today's complex society, we will prevent more crime and more corruption than all the policemen and prosecutors governments can ever deter. If I might say so, this is a job that must begin at home, not in Washington.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, Address to Congress (12 August 1974)

“There are no historic or legal precedents to which I can turn in this matter, none that precisely fit the circumstances of a private citizen who has resigned the Presidency of the United States. But it is common knowledge that serious allegations and accusations hang like a sword over our former President's head, threatening his health as he tries to reshape his life, a great part of which was spent in the service of this country and by the mandate of its people.
After years of bitter controversy and divisive national debate, I have been advised, and I am compelled to conclude that many months and perhaps more years will have to pass before Richard Nixon could obtain a fair trial by jury in any jurisdiction of the United States under governing decisions of the Supreme Court.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, Remarks on pardoning Nixon (1974)

“I am not asking for conformity. I am dedicated to the two-party system, and you know which party I belong to.
I do not want a honeymoon with you. I want a good marriage. I want progress, and I want problemsolving which requires my best efforts and also your best efforts. I have no need to learn how Congress speaks for the people. As President, I intend to listen. But I also intend to listen to the people themselves — all the people — as I promised last Friday. I want to be sure that we are all tuned in to the real voice of America.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, Address to Congress (12 August 1974)

“I would hope that understanding and reconciliation are not limited to the 19th hole alone.”

Gerald Ford

Dedication speech at the World Golf Hall of Fame, Pinehurst North Carolina, as quoted in The New York Times (12 September 1974)
1970s

“The three-martini lunch is the epitome of American efficiency. Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time?”

Gerald Ford

Remarks to the National Restaurant Association, in Chicago, Illinois (28 May 1978)
1970s

“Richard Nixon… was just offered $2 million by Schick to do a television commercial — for Gillette.”

Gerald Ford

Remarks at a "Humor and the Presidency Symposium", Ford Museum, Grand Rapids Michigan, as quoted in US magazine (3 November 1986)
1980s

“Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, First Presidential address (1974)

“We must introduce a new balance in the relationship between the individual and the government — a balance that favors greater individual freedom and self-reliance.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, State of the Union Address (1975)

“In this Bicentennial Year, we are commemorating the anniversary dates of many great events in American history. An honest reckoning, however, must include a recognition of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements. Learning from our mistakes is not pleasant, but as a great philosopher once admonished, we must do so if we want to avoid repeating them.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, Proclamation 4417 (1976)

“I am a Ford, not a Lincoln. My addresses will never be as eloquent as Mr. Lincoln's. But I will do my very best to equal his brevity and his plain speaking.”

Gerald Ford

1970s, First Vice-Presidential address (1973)