Theodore Roosevelt on the presidency

Speak softly and carry a big stick.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

I had a dream the other night. I dreamed that Jimmy Carter came to me and asked why I wanted his job. I told him I didn’t want his job. I want to be President.

Ronald Reagan1911–2004

• Clever Jabs

Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn’t grow up can be vice president.

Johnny Carson1925–2005

• Democracy

You may think the President is all-powerful, but he is not. He needs a lot of guidance from the Lord.

Barbara Bush1925–2018

• God