George H. W. Bush quotes

George H. W. Bush was an American politician who served as the 41st president of the United States. Known for his leadership during the end of the Cold War and the Gulf War, he also held roles as vice president and CIA director. He is remembered for his commitment to public service and his focus on diplomacy in foreign policy. Here are 110 of his quotes:

America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. (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. View quote
George H. W. Bush
Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education. View quote
George H. W. Bush
We are a nation of communities... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky. View quote
George H. W. Bush
The American way of life is not negotiable. View quote
George H. W. Bush
A President is neither prince nor pope, and I don't seek a window on men's souls. In fact, I yearn for a greater tolerance, an easy-goingness about each other's attitudes and way of life. View quote
George H. W. Bush
I'm the one who will not raise taxes. My opponent now says he'll raise them as a last resort, or a third resort. But when a politician talks like that, you know that's one resort he'll be checking into. My opponent, my opponent won't rule out raising taxes. But I will. And The Congress will push me to raise taxes and I'll say no. And they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again, and I'll say, to them, "Read my lips: no new taxes." View quote
George H. W. Bush
We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons. View quote
George H. W. Bush
I hope to stand for a new harmony, a greater tolerance. We've come far, but I think we need a new harmony among the races in our country. And we're on a journey into a new century, and we've got to leave that tired old baggage of bigotry behind. View quote
George H. W. Bush
You don't have to go to college to be a success ... We need the people who run the offices, the people who do the hard physical work of our society. View quote
George H. W. Bush
This is an historic moment. We have in this past year made great progress in ending the long era of conflict and cold war. We have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order, a world where the rule of law, not the law of the jungle, governs the conduct of nations. When we are successful, and we will be, we have a real chance at this new world order, an order in which a credible United Nations can use its peacekeeping role to fulfill the promise and vision of the U. N.'s founders. We have no argument with the people of Iraq. Indeed, for the innocents caught in this conflict, I pray for their safety. (George H. W. Bush)
I think there's a Trojan horse lurking in the weeds, ready to pull a fast one on the American people, and I simply am not going to let that happen. View quote
George H. W. Bush
I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater. And if our flaws are endless, God's love is truly boundless. Some see leadership as high drama, and the sound of trumpets calling, and sometimes it is that. But I see history as a book with many pages, and each day we fill a page with acts of hopefulness and meaning. The new breeze blows, a page turns, the story unfolds. And so today a chapter begins, a small and stately story of unity, diversity, and generosity - shared, and written, together. View quote
George H. W. Bush
It just isn't going to work, and it's very interesting that the man who invented this type of what I call a voodoo economic policy is Art Laffer, a California economist. View quote
George H. W. Bush
The American people await action. They didn't send us here to bicker. They ask us to rise above the merely partisan. "In crucial things, unity" View quote
George H. W. Bush
I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them. View quote
George H. W. Bush
Lincoln said you cannot be President without spending some item on your knees. I have repeated that and a bunch of Atheists got all over me. Wait a minute. Does that mean that you cannot be President if you are an Atheist? I say yea that does mean that. View quote
George H. W. Bush
We are not the sum of our possessions. View quote
George H. W. Bush
I'm conservative, but I'm not a nut about it. View quote
George H. W. Bush
I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, and anti-racism. View quote
George H. W. Bush
It's a very good question, very direct, and I'm not going to answer it. (George H. W. Bush)
A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken. There are times when the future seems thick as a fog; you sit and wait, hoping the mists will lift and reveal the right path. But this is a time when the future seems a door you can walk right through into a room called tomorrow. View quote
George H. W. Bush
But let me tell you, this gender thing is history. You're looking at a guy who sat down with Margaret Thatcher across the table and talked about serious issues. View quote
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. View quote
George H. W. Bush
It's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another. View quote
George H. W. Bush