.
I miss this guy, everything about him.
I miss his optimism, his dignity, his self
confidence, but mostly I miss his wit. Here was a president whose best jokes
always seemed to be at his own expense. You can do that when you possess great
faith not only in yourself but in your country. I didn’t agree with everything
he did as President. In many areas he was a great success, but in others he
failed miserably. In this regard he was not unlike all who came before or after
him, a mixed bag.
But, who among us in this day and age of humorless
political discourse doesn’t long for a President who routinely said things like
this:
- “If the government were placed in charge of the Sahara desert, there would be a sand shortage within three years.”
- “It’s true that hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?”
- “I’m not worried about the deficit. It’s big enough to take care of itself.”
- When responding to a reporter’s worry that he was known to take long naps in the afternoon, “I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency…even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.”
- “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. But I have found that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”
- “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
- When answering a reporter’s question about whether he was too old to run for President…”Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We should never judge a President by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that I’ve stop worrying.”
- First remarks at the beginning of a press conference, “Before I refuse to answer any of your questions, I have an opening statement.”
- “One way to make sure crime doesn’t pay is to let the government run it.”
- “I have wondered at time what the Ten Commandments would have looked like had Moses run them through Congress.”
- “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”
- Responding to criticism of his foreign policy by Ed Asner…”What does an actor know about politics?”
