“The state would rather give me an uzi than a microphone.”

Vacation
Because I Can

After being wounded during the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (24 July 1797), as quoted in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. II : 1795-1797, p. 423
1790s

Speech as Home Secretary on the UK and European Union https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretarys-speech-on-the-uk-eu-and-our-place-in-the-world (25 April 2016)

To the twenty-fifth-anniversary meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (1857)
1850s

Source: The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001), Chapter 1, Introduction, p. 20

2010s, Interview with Isaac Chotiner (February 2017)

"Not Mine"

At a Republican primary debate in Nashua, New Hampshire (23 February 1980). The moderator had ordered the soundman to turn off Reagan&#x27;s microphone, as Reagan was about to explain that as his campaign was paying for the debate which had originally been arranged by the Nashua Telegraph and that he had invited Bob Dole, Howard Baker, John B. Anderson, and Phil Crane, to be in it as well. <br class="br"> Video footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO2_49TycdE <br class="br">1980s

Source: The End of the American Era (2002), Chapter six: "The Limits of American Internationalism&mdash;Looking Ahead"
Context: Satisfied powers are those that have reached the top of the pecking order, are happy with their lot, and are primarily interested in preserving the status quo. In contrast, rising powers are states on the move. They are not satisfied with their lot, are usually struggling for recognition and influence, and are therefore looking for ways to overturn the status quo. In general terms, satisfied states extend commitments abroad when they must, not when they can. They are motivated by necessity rather than opportunity. Rising states extend commitments abroad when they can, not when they must. They are motivated by opportunity rather than necessity.