“We shall be judged more by what we do at home than by what we preach abroad.”
1963, Third State of the Union Address
Context: These are not domestic concerns alone. For upon our achievement of greater vitality and strength here at home hang our fate and future in the world: our ability to sustain and supply the security of free men and nations, our ability to command their respect for our leadership, our ability to expand our trade without threat to our balance of payments, and our ability to adjust to the changing demands of cold war competition and challenge. We shall be judged more by what we do at home than by what we preach abroad. Nothing we could do to help the developing countries would help them half as much as a booming U. S. economy. And nothing our opponents could do to encourage their own ambitions would encourage them half as much as a chronic lagging U. S. economy. These domestic tasks do not divert energy from our security — they provide the very foundation for freedom's survival and success.
