“The American people are a very generous people and will forgive almost any weakness, with the possible exception of stupidity.”

Source: Excerpts of letter to his first wife (14 July 1975)

Source: The Bluest Eye

Source: Days of Magic, Nights of War

Source: Wizard's First Rule

1990s, Speech to the Council for National Policy (1997)

Voltaire (1916)

Variant: The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.

2010s, 2017, Speech at "Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In the World" event (2017)
Context: Our identity as a nation – unlike many other nations – is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood. Being an American involves the embrace of high ideals and civic responsibility. We become the heirs of Thomas Jefferson by accepting the ideal of human dignity found in the Declaration of Independence. We become the heirs of James Madison by understanding the genius and values of the U. S. Constitution. We become the heirs of Martin Luther King Jr. by recognizing one another not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. This means people of every race, ethnicity and religion can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed. It means the very identity of our nation depends on the passing of civic ideals to the next generation.