Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream"

1992 Presidential Debates

The 1992 Presidential debates between Ross Perot, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton.

George W. Bush Blunders

George W. Bush was a well lampooned president. Here are some videos of presidential blunders:

Barack Obama 43rd US President 2009-

Barack Obama 1961 -

43rd US President

Democrat

First Lady Michelle Obama

Vice President Joe Biden

Barack Obama won the 2008 election on a Platform of Change. The economy and wars are pressing issues for the Obama Administration.

Barack Obama Quotes:


The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has extended a little longer than 15 minutes is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.
Barack Obama

The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable.
Barack Obama

The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because I am one of them.
Barack Obama

The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam.
Barack Obama

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
Barack Obama

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America - there's the United States of America.
Barack Obama

George W Bush 42nd US President 2000 - 2008

George W. Bush 1946 -

42nd US President 2000 - 2008

Republican

First Lady Laura Walker

Vice President Dick Cheney

George W. Bush was elected in 2000 under many disputes over vote counting. With a slowing economy Bush's focus was on cutting taxes and trying to get the economy moving again. The Terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 shifted all of the administrations focus from domestic issues towards foreign policies and anti terrorism. The war in Afghanistan and The War in Iraq caused Bush's popularity to plummet. He was re elected and the problems seemed to continue on both foreign and domestic issues. Bush's Presidency came under fire repeatedly for the failing economy and the huge spending on the wars.
During the Bush administration Our Debt:
The start of Bush Administration 01/03/2000 $ 5,751,743,092,605.50

The end of the Bush Administraion 09/30/2008 $ 10,024,724,896,912.49


George W. Bush Quotes:

Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history - revisionist historians is what I like to call them.
George W. Bush

On September 11 2001, America felt its vulnerability even to threats that gather on the other side of the Earth. We resolved then, and we are resolved today, to confront every threat from any source that could bring sudden terror and suffering to America.
George W. Bush

Only a liberal senator from Massachusetts would say that a 49 percent increase in funding for education was not enough.
George W. Bush

Our nation must come together to unite.
George W. Bush

Our Nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.
George W. Bush

People make suggestions on what to say all the time. I'll give you an example; I don't read what's handed to me. People say, 'Here, here's your speech, or here's an idea for a speech.' They're changed. Trust me.
George W. Bush

William Clinton 42nd US President 1993 - 2000

William Jefferson Clinton 1946-

42nd US President 1993 -2000

Democrat

First Lady Hillary Rodham

Vice President Al Gore

Bill Clinton was the first US President of the "Baby Boom" generation. His energy brought an new feel to the White House. The youth movement of his campaign gave an overhaul of the idea of the office of the President. Clinton's efforts focused on the economy, health care reform and free trade agreements. In 1994, Republicans gained control of the House and Senate forcing a focus on the federal budget deficit and affirmative action.

William J. Clinton Quotes:

Today, many companies are reporting that their number one constraint on growth is the inability to hire workers with the necessary skills.
William J. Clinton


We must teach our children to resolve their conflicts with words, not weapons.
William J. Clinton

When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web... Now even my cat has its own page.
William J. Clinton

When we make college more affordable, we make the American dream more achievable.
William J. Clinton

You are the most powerful cultural force in the world.
William J. Clinton

You can put wings on a pig, but you don't make it an eagle.
William J. Clinton

You are the most powerful cultural force in the world.
William J. Clinton

George H.W. Bush 41st US President 1989-1993

George H. W. Bush 1924 -

41st US President 1989- 1993

Republican

First Lady Barbara Pierce

Vice President J. Danforth Quayle

Bush faced huge problem with the debt the Reagan years left behind. Budget problems and raising taxes hurt Bush's popularity, but his foreign affairs leadership propelled him into greater popularity. The Gulf War of 1991 helped solidify his image a strong leader although the popularity did not lead to re election in 1992.


I am not one who - who flamboyantly believes in throwing a lot of words around.
George H.W. Bush

I can tell you this: If I'm ever in a position to call the shots, I'm not going to rush to send somebody else's kids into a war.
George H.W. Bush

I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.
George H.W. Bush

I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them.
George H.W. Bush

I think I'd be a better president because I was in combat.
George H.W. Bush

I'll be glad to reply to or dodge your questions, depending on what I think will help our election most.
George H.W. Bush

Ronald Reagan 40th US President 1981 - 1989

Ronald Wilson Reagan 1911 - 2004

40th US President 1981 - 1989

Republican

First Lady Nancy Davis

Vice President George H.W. Bush

Reagan won the 1980 election with the help of a conservative base which brought about huge defense spending and tax cuts which lead to a record budget deficit. His style of leadership was important in raising the country's optimism of our strength domestically and abroad. Reagan's policies help bring an end to the Soviet Union and the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan Quotes:

Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.
Ronald Reagan


People do not make wars; governments do.
Ronald Reagan


Politics I supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
Ronald Reagan


Politics is just like show business. You have a hell of an opening, coast for a while, and then have a hell of a close.
Ronald Reagan

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.
Ronald Reagan

James Earl Carter, Jr 39th US President 1977- 1981

James Earl Carter Jr. 1924 -

39th US President 1977 - 1981

Democrat

First Lady Rosalynn Smith

Vice President Walter Mondale

Jimmy Carter faced domestic problems with inflation and energy crisis. Carter tried to achieve peace in the middle East, but his inability to free American hostages in Iran and to solve problems at home caused him supporters and the 1980 election. Carter has been a very active former President in foreign and domestic affairs.

Jimmy Carter Quotes: Jimmy Carter

People make a big fuss over you when you're President. But I'm very serious about doing everything I can to make sure that it doesn't go to my head.
Jimmy Carter

Republicans are men of narrow vision, who are afraid of the future.
Jimmy Carter

Sadat was a great and good man, and his most bitter and dangerous enemies were people who were obsessed with hatred for his peaceful goals.
Jimmy Carter

Testing oneself is best when done alone.
Jimmy Carter

The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.
Jimmy Carter

The best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation.
Jimmy Carter

Gerald R. Ford 38th US President 1974 - 1977

Gerald R Ford 1913- 2006

38th US President 1974 - 1977

Republican

First Lady Elizabeth Bloomer Warren

Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller

Gerald Ford succeeded Richard Nixon after his resignation making him the first US President not to be elected. He granted Richard Nixon a full pardon regarding Watergate and gave amnesty to Vietnam War resisters. Ford was no elected to another term.

Gerald R. Ford Quotes:

My commitment to the security and future of Israel is based upon basic morality as well as enlightened self-interest. Our role in supporting Israel honors our own heritage.
Gerald R. Ford


My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.
Gerald R. Ford


Our constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws, not of men.
Gerald R. Ford

Our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.
Gerald R. Ford

Teddy Roosevelt... once said, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick.' Jimmy Carter wants to speak loudly and carry a fly swatter.
Gerald R. Ford

Tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time.
Gerald R. Ford

Richard M. Nixon 37th US President 1969 - 1974

Richard M. Nixon 1913- 1994

37th US President 1969-1974

Republican

First Lady Thelma Catherine Ryan

Vice Presidents - Spiro T. Agnew (1969-1973) Gerald R Ford ( 1973-74)

Nixon created a cease fire agreement with Vietnam. Nixon also began the SALT talks with the U.S.S.R. The Watergate controversy led to his resignation, but he was granted "a full and complete pardon."


Richard M. Nixon Quotes:

The American people are entitled to see the president and to hear his views directly, and not to see him only through the press.
Richard M. Nixon

The Cold War isn't thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat. Communism isn't sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting.
Richard M. Nixon

The greatest honor history can bestow is that of peacemaker.
Richard M. Nixon

The man who is aware of himself is henceforward independent; and he is never bored, and life is only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet temperate happiness.
Richard M. Nixon

The mark of a true politician is that he is never at a loss for words because he is always half-expecting to be asked to make a speech.
Richard M. Nixon

The memory of that scene for me is like a frame of film forever frozen at that moment: the red carpet, the green lawn, the white house, the leaden sky. The new president and his first lady.
Richard M. Nixon

Lyndon Baines Johnson 36th US President 1963 - 1969

Lyndon Baines Johnson 1908 - 1973

36th US President 1963 - 1963

Democrat

First Lady Claudia Alta Taylor

Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey

Lyndon Johnson became President when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The Vietnam War was the big issue of Johnson's Presidency. Johnson continued Kennedy's Civil Rights with education reform, voting rights for African Americans, and medicare.


Lyndon Baines Johnson Quotes:

John F. Kennedy was the victim of the hate that was a part of our country. It is a disease that occupies the minds of the few but brings danger to the many.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

Just like the Alamo, somebody damn well needed to go to their aid. Well, by God, I'm going to Viet Nam's aid!
Lyndon Baines Johnson

No member of our generation who wasn't a Communist or a dropout in the thirties is worth a damn.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

One lesson you better learn if you want to be in politics is that you never go out on a golf course and beat the President.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

Only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is to let her have it.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

Our most tragic error may have been our inability to establish a rapport and a confidence with the press and television with the communication media. I don't think the press has understood me.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

John F. Kennedy 35th US President 1961- 1963

John F. Kennedy 1917- 1963

35th US President 1961 - 1963

Democrat

First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson

Kennedy's administration had seen many strugles. Domestically the US was struggling with Civil rights, Communism was gaining strength in East Germany and Cuba. Kennedy supported Anti-Castro Cubans in the Bay of Pigs invasion and resisted the communist forces in East Berlin. Kennedy also established the Peace Corps to bring education and skills to underdeveloped countries. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

John F. Kennedy Quotes:

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.
John F. Kennedy


Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
John F. Kennedy


Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.
John F. Kennedy

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
John F. Kennedy

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
John F. Kennedy

Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th US President 1953 - 1961

Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890 - 1969

34th US President 1953 - 1961

Republican

First Lady Mary Geneva Doud

Vice President Richard M. Nixon

General Eisenhower had served in both World Wars and was considered by many a fantastic leader. During the Eisenhower years, racial integration was enforced in the public schools, and a major highway system was created. Eisenhower was an extremely popular president who took many measures to protect the world from Communism.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotes:

Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.
Dwight D. Eisenhower


No one should ever sit in this office over 70 years old, and that I know.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Oh, that lovely title, ex-president.
Dwight D. Eisenhower


Only Americans can hurt America.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.
Dwight D. Eisenhower


Only strength can cooperate. Weakness can only beg.

Harry S Truman 33rd US President 1945 - 1953

Harry S Truman 1884 - 1972

33rd US President 1945 - 1953

Democrat

First Lady Elizabeth Virginia Wallace

Vice President Alben W. Barkley

Harry S Truman took office when Roosevelt died shortly into his fourth term. World War II was nearing the end and Truman made the decision to use the Atomic Bomb against Japan. Truman was very concerned of the rise of Communism and created the Truman Doctrine to help aid small countries from being threatened by Communist forces. Truman helped form NATO to help maintain peace throughout the world in the post World War II era.

Harry S Truman Quotes:

Richard Nixon is a no good, lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, and if he ever caught himself telling the truth, he'd lie just to keep his hand in.
Harry S Truman


Study men, not historians.


The atom bomb was no "great decision." It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.
Harry S Truman


The best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
Harry S Truman

The buck stops here!
Harry S Truman

Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd US President 1933-1945

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1882 - 1945

32nd President 1933- 1945

Democrat

First Lady Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

Vice President (s) John N. Garner (1933-41) Henry A. Wallace (1941- 1945) Harry S. Truman (1945)

Franklin D. Roosevelt came into the Presidency during the nation's worst economic time. Roosevelt set up his "New Deal" which started the road to economic recovery. Foreign Affairs and the second World War became the focus of Roosevelt's later years in office. Roosevelt was elected to a Fourth Term as US President though died shortly into his fourth term.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes:

Not only our future economic soundness but the very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men.
Franklin D. Roosevelt


One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment... If it doesn't turn out right, we can modify it as we go along.
Franklin D. Roosevelt


Our national determination to keep free of foreign wars and foreign entanglements cannot prevent us from feeling deep concern when ideals and principles that we have cherished are challenged. Franklin D. Roosevelt


Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.
Franklin D. Roosevelt


Prosperous farmers mean more employment, more prosperity for the workers and the business men of every industrial area in the whole country.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Put two or three men in positions of conflicting authority. This will force them to work at loggerheads, allowing you to be the ultimate arbiter.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Herbert Hoover 31st US President 1929- 1933

Herbert Hoover 1874 - 1964

31st US President 1929 - 1933

Republican

First Lady Lou Henry

Vice President Charles Curtis

Herbert Hoover's administration was hurt by the stock market crash of 1929 happening in his first year in office. The crash led to The Depression and that plagued Hoover's presidency. Hoover tried many times to bring some relief to the thousands of unemployed people. Hoover was blamed for the crash and depression. Hoover lost the 1932 president election by a wide margin.

Herbert Hoover Quotes:


Honor is not the exclusive property of any political party.
Herbert Hoover


I'm the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him.
Herbert Hoover


If the law is upheld only by government officials, then all law is at an end.
Herbert Hoover


In America today, we are nearer a final triumph over poverty than is any other land.
Herbert Hoover


It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own.
Herbert Hoover

Calvin Coolidge 30th US President 1923 - 1929

Calvin Coolidge 1872 - 1933

30th US President 1923 - 1929

Republican

First Lady Grace Anna Goodhue

Vice President Charles G. Dawes

Coolidge was a symbol of the prosperity of the Roaring 20's. Coolidge was thrifty and very conservative with economics. He was well regarded for his common sense.


Calvin Coolidge Quotes:

Advertising is the life of trade.
Calvin Coolidge

After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.
Calvin Coolidge

All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.
Calvin Coolidge

Any man who does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House.
Calvin Coolidge

Warren G. Harding 29th US President 1921-1923

Warren G. Harding 1865 - 1932

29th President 1921- 1923

Republican

First Lady Florence Kling Dewolfe

Vice President Calvin Coolidge

Warren Harding Tariffs were reinstated, immigration was restricted and a Federal budget was created. Warren Harding kept the US out of the League of Nations and tried to reduce the arms of all nations. Harding died before his term ended.

Warren G. Harding Quotes:

America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.
Warren G Harding

I don't know much about Americanism, but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election.
Warren G Harding

I don't know what to do or where to turn in this taxation matter. Somewhere there must be a book that tells all about it, where I could go to straighten it out in my mind. But I don't know where the book is, and maybe I couldn't read it if I found it.
Warren G Harding

I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies in a fight. But my friends, my goddamned friends, they're the ones who keep me walking the floor at nights!
Warren G Harding

Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile his friends are everything.
Warren G Harding

Woodrow Wilson 28th US President 1913-1921

Woodrow Wilson 1856 - 1924

28th Us President 1913 - 1921

Democrat

First Lady Ellen Louise Axson Edith Bolling Galt

Vice President Thomas R. Marshall

Woodrow Wilson had a troubled presidency, but managed to push through his agenda when it came to banking, business and child labor and other domestic policies. After World War I, Wilson won the Nobel Prize for creating lasting peace and advocating the League of Nations.


Woodrow Wilson Quotes:

A conservative is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits.
Woodrow Wilson

A conservative is someone who makes no changes and consults his grandmother when in doubt.
Woodrow Wilson

A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible.
Woodrow Wilson

Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.
Woodrow Wilson

America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us.
Woodrow Wilson

America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses.
Woodrow Wilson

William Howard Taft 27th US President 1909-1913

William Howard Taft 1857 - 1930

27th US President

Republican

First Lady Helen Herron

Vice President James S. Sherman

Taft was a brilliant administrator and his presidency showed his abilities. Hos major accomplishment was the Interstate Commerce Commission which gave the US government greater control of the railroads.

William Howard Taft Quotes:

Politics makes me sick.
William Howard Taft

Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.
William Howard Taft

Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that to-day is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise and new activity.
William Howard Taft

Substantial progress toward better things can rarely be taken without developing new evils requiring new remedies.
William Howard Taft

The trouble with me is that I like to talk too much.
William Howard Taft

Theodore Roosevelt 26th US President

Theodore Roosevelt 1858 - 1919

26th US president 1901-1909

Republican

First Lady Alice Hathaway Lee Edith Kermit Carow

Vice President Charles Warren Fairbanks

Theodore Roosevelt's First Term was highlighted by The Square Deal which regulated businesses and provided favorable working conditions. Roosevelt also made great strides in creating the National Park system and conserving resources.


Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.
Theodore Roosevelt


A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.

Theodore Roosevelt


A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.
Theodore Roosevelt


A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.
Theodore Roosevelt


A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.
Theodore Roosevelt


Absence and death are the same - only that in death there is no suffering.
Theodore Roosevelt