“Lincoln isn’t a man with ingrown toenails, he’s an idea.”
On reading a biography of Lincoln that “showed me the warts”
New York Times (14 September 1986)
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Mario Cuomo 39
American politician, Governor of New York 1932–2015Related quotes
“A man who marries at my age isn’t taking a wife, he’s indenturing a nurse.”
Source: I Will Fear No Evil (1970), Chapter 14, p. 224
But it’s no earthly use just saying it isn’t done. If there’s a reason why it isn’t done, give the reason—if there’s no reason, don’t attempt to stop me doing it. All other things being equal, the mere fact that something “isn’t done” is in itself an excellent reason for doing it.
p.101
Reasons and Persons (1984)
Source: 2000s, A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War (2000), p. 228
Address on the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King (15 January 1983) http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/11583d.htm
1980s, First term of office (1981–1985)
Context: Abraham Lincoln freed the black man. In many ways, Dr. King freed the white man. How did he accomplish this tremendous feat? Where others — white and black — preached hatred, he taught the principles of love and nonviolence. We can be so thankful that Dr. King raised his mighty eloquence for love and hope rather than for hostility and bitterness. He took the tension he found in our nation, a tension of injustice, and channeled it for the good of America and all her people.
“Tough toenails, tiger. What you want and what you get are usually two entirely different things.”
Source: Three Weeks With My Brother