George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

Quotes of George W. Bush

1. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.”
— George W. Bush

2. “They misunderestimated me.”
— George W. Bush

3. “I know the human being and fish can co-exist peacefully.”
— George W. Bush

4. “I’m the decider, and I decide what is best.”
— George W. Bush

5. “Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos.”
— George W. Bush

6. “I think – tide turning – see, as I remember – I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of – it’s easy to see a tide turn – did I say those words?”
— George W. Bush

7. “I couldn’t imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Chanukah.”
— George W. Bush

8. “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”
— George W. Bush

9. “I think we agree, the past is over.”
— George W. Bush

10. “The thing that’s wrong with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”
— George W. Bush

11. “My answer is bring ’em on.”
— George W. Bush

12. “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”
— George W. Bush

13. “One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.”
— George W. Bush

14. “We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail.”
— George W. Bush

15. “When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.”
— George W. Bush

16. “The bond between mothers and their children is one defined by love. As a mother’s prayers for her children are unending, so are the wisdom, grace, and strength they provide to their children.”
— George W. Bush

17. “International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn’t bring that up to me.”
— George W. Bush

18. “What our enemies have begun, we will finish.”
— George W. Bush

19. “And I encourage you all to go shopping more.”
— George W. Bush

20. “Use power to help people. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power and it is to serve people.”
— George W. Bush

21. “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”
— George W. Bush

22. “I don’t worry about long-term history. I won’t be around to read it.”
— George W. Bush

23. “Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy.”
— George W. Bush

24. “I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it.”
— George W. Bush

25. “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
— George W. Bush

26. “Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.”
— George W. Bush

27. “To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States.”
— George W. Bush

28. “Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat.”
— George W. Bush

29. “I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good.”
— George W. Bush

30. “This business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it at all.”
— George W. Bush

31. “After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time.”
— George W. Bush

32. “The greatest gift a parent can give a child is unconditional love. As a child wanders and strays, finding his bearings, he needs a sense of absolute love from a parent. There’s nothing wrong with tough love, as long as the love is unconditional.”
— George W. Bush

33. “The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.”
— George W. Bush

34. “It’s your money. You paid for it.”
— George W. Bush

35. “It will take time to restore chaos.”
— George W. Bush

36. “Islam brings hope and comfort to millions of people in my country, and to more than a billion people worldwide. Ramadan is also an occasion to remember that Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefited mankind.”
— George W. Bush

37. “History is moving, and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy.”
— George W. Bush

38. “Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.”

— George W. Bush

39. “We will stay the course until the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We’re just going to stay the course.”
— George W. Bush

40. “If you’re a single mother with two children, which is the toughest job in America as far as I’m concerned, and you’re working hard to put food on your family…”
— George W. Bush

41. “We ought to make the pie higher.”
— George W. Bush

42. “Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories.”
— George W. Bush

43. “God told me to smite Osama bin Laden, so I invaded Afghanistan. Then He told me to smite Saddam Hussein, so I invaded Iraq. Now He wants me to work on the Middle East problem…”
— George W. Bush

44. “There is a natural greenhouse effect that contributes to warming. Greenhouse gases trap heat and thus warm the Earth because they prevent a significant proportion of infrared radiation from escaping into space.”
— George W. Bush

45. “I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”
— George W. Bush

46. “Evil knows no holiday.”
— George W. Bush

47. “There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say: Victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world.”
— George W. Bush

48. “Our aim is a democratic peace.”
— George W. Bush

49. “It’s time to restore honor and dignity to the White House.”
— George W. Bush

50. “There may be some tough times here in America. But this country has gone through tough times before, and we’re going to do it again.”
— George W. Bush

51. “My administration has a job to do and we’re going to do it. We will rid the world of the evil-doers.”
— George W. Bush

52. “I believe in grace because I’ve seen it and peace because I’ve felt it and forgiveness because I’ve needed it.”
— George W. Bush

53. “I believe that freedom is the deepest need of every human soul.”
— George W. Bush

54. “There ought to be limits to freedom. We’re aware of the site, and this guy is just a garbage man.”
— George W. Bush

55. “History will prove me right. This is an exercise in folly.”
— George W. Bush

56. “There ought to be limits to freedom.”
— George W. Bush

57. “In the corporate world, sometimes things aren’t exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures.”
— George W. Bush

58. “When I say drop your pants and show me the moon, I’m not just whistling Dixie!”
— George W. Bush

59. “They have miscalculated me as a leader.”
— George W. Bush

60. “This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.”
— George W. Bush

61. “All across America, we gather this week with the people we love to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives.”
— George W. Bush

62. “Like other forms of stealing, identity theft leaves the victim poor and feeling terribly violated.”
— George W. Bush

63. “America is successful because of the hard work and creativity and enterprise of our people.”
— George W. Bush

64. “God speaks through me.”
— George W. Bush

65. “The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself.”
— George W. Bush

66. “I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.”
— George W. Bush

67. “I inherited half my father’s friends and all his enemies.”
— George W. Bush

68. “Doing nothing in the face of a grave threat to the world is not an option.”
— George W. Bush

69. “I reads every chance I can gets.”
— George W. Bush

70. “I’m a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office and foreign policy matters with war on my mind.”
— George W. Bush

71. “Conspiracy theories abound in American politics. I don’t think we need to be subliminable about the differences between our views on prescription drugs.”
— George W. Bush

72. “We’re supposed to have guns. It says so in the Bible; and the second greatest book ever written, the Texas State Constitution.”
— George W. Bush

73. “You can’t put democracy and freedom back into a box.”
— George W. Bush

74. “You cannot lead America to a positive tomorrow with revenge on one’s mind. Revenge is so incredibly negative.”
— George W. Bush

75. “As Governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards.”
— George W. Bush

76. “I mean, if you’ve ever been a governor of a state, you understand the vast potential of broadband technology, you understand how hard it is to make sure that physics, for example, is taught in every classroom in the state. It’s difficult to do. It’s, like, cost-prohibitive.”
— George W. Bush

77. “There’s a lot of things that there’s misconceptions. Evidently it’s a misconceptions that Americans believe that Muslims are terrorists.”
— George W. Bush

78. “Stop throwing the Constitution in my face. It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!”
— George W. Bush

79. “Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called ‘walking.’”
— George W. Bush

80. “Please don’t kill me!”
— George W. Bush

81. “Outwit, outlast, outplay. It’s the tagline for the television show Survivor and it’s damn near what presidenting is like, too.”
— George W. Bush

82. “I’m the master of low expectations.”
— George W. Bush

83. “The nature of the presidency is that sometimes you don’t choose which challenges come to your desk. You do decide how to respond.”
— George W. Bush

84. “For decades, the public school system failed too many children, so we passed the No Child Left Behind Act and demanded schools show results in return for money.”
— George W. Bush

85. “These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of America’s resolve.”
— George W. Bush

86. “Well, I think if you say you’re going to do something and don’t do it, that’s trustworthiness.”
— George W. Bush

87. “Sometimes, words have consequences you don’t intend them to mean.”
— George W. Bush

88. “Removing Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my presidency, it is the right decision now, and it will be the right decision ever.”
— George W. Bush

89. “Their sacrifice was great, but not in vain. All Americans and every free nation on earth can trace their liberty to the white markers of places like Arlington National Cemetery. And may God keep us ever grateful.”
— George W. Bush

90. “No insignificant person was ever born.”
— George W. Bush

91. “In my sentences I go where no man has gone before.”
— George W. Bush

92. “Embryonic stem-cell research requires the destruction of life to create a stem cell. That’s why I think we’ve got to be very careful in balancing the ethics and the science.”
— George W. Bush

93. “It’s important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It’s not only life of babies, but it’s life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet.”
— George W. Bush

94. “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war.”
— George W. Bush

95. “If you don’t succeed, you run the risk of failure.”
— George W. Bush

96. “The best thing about my family is my wife. She is a great first lady. I know that sounds not very objective, but that’s how I feel. And she’s also patient. Putting up with me requires a lot of patience.”
— George W. Bush

97. “Look, the key for me is to keep expectations low.”
— George W. Bush

98. “You cannot solve a problem unless you diagnose the problem.”
— George W. Bush

99. “These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion.”
— George W. Bush

100. “There’s only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I’ve got an additional responsibility to hug and that’s me and I know what it’s like.”
— George W. Bush

101. “If you don’t feel something strongly you’re not going to achieve.”
— George W. Bush

102. “I can’t wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs.”
— George W. Bush

103. “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
— George W. Bush

104. “America is addicted to oil and increasing amounts of this oil comes from abroad. Some of the nations we depend on for oil have unstable governments or are hostile towards the United States.”
— George W. Bush

105. “Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power.”
— George W. Bush

106. “Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction.”
— George W. Bush

107. “We cannot let terrorists hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile.”
— George W. Bush

108. “The enemy understands a free Iraq will be a major defeat in their ideology of hatred. That’s why they’re fighting so vociferously.”
— George W. Bush

109. “More than two decades later, it is hard to imagine the Revolutionary War coming out any other way.”
— George W. Bush

110. “No President has ever done more for human rights than I have.”
— George W. Bush

111. “It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas.”
— George W. Bush

112. “I pray daily, and I pray in all kinds of places. I mean, I pray in bed, I pray in the Oval Office. I pray a lot. And just different as the spirit moves me. And faith is an integral part of my life.”
— George W. Bush

113. “Laura and I really don’t realize how bright our children is sometimes until we get an objective analysis.”
— George W. Bush

114. “We’re still being challenged in Iraq and the reason why is a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of freedom.”
— George W. Bush

115. “If the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could proliferate.”
— George W. Bush

116. “My God, the man is a fascist – a fascist, I tell you.”
— George W. Bush

117. “Oftentimes people ask me, ‘Why is it that you’re so focused on helping the hungry and diseased in strange parts of the world?’”
— George W. Bush

118. “I don’t remember debates. I don’t think we spent a lot of time debating it. Maybe we did, but I don’t remember.”
— George W. Bush

119. “What people can dream, people can do.”
— George W. Bush

120. “I come from a different generation from my Dad.”
— George W. Bush

121. “This storm is dangerous.”
— George W. Bush

122. “The fundamental question is: ‘Will I be a successful president when it comes to foreign policy?’ I will be, but until I’m the president, it’s going to be hard for me to verify that I think I’ll be more effective.”
— George W. Bush

123. “It is written that adversity introduces us to ourselves.”
— George W. Bush

124. “America is the land of the second chance – and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.”
— George W. Bush

125. “It has come to my attention, that air pollution is polluting the air!”
— George W. Bush

126. “These stories about my intellectual capacity really get under my skin. You know, for a while I even thought my staff believed it. There on my schedule first thing every morning it said, ‘Intelligence Briefing.’”
— George W. Bush

127. “They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom gets to speak.”
— George W. Bush

128. “We’ve climbed the mighty mountain. I see the valley below, and it’s a valley of peace.”
— George W. Bush

129. “I’m the commander – see, I don’t need to explain – I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being president.”
— George W. Bush

130. “I’m telling you there’s an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That’s the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best.”
— George W. Bush

131. “I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.”
— George W. Bush

132. “Just remember it’s the birds that’s supposed to suffer, not the hunter.”
— George W. Bush

133. “There are cameras nowadays that have been developed to tell the difference between a squirrel and a bomb.”
— George W. Bush

134. “The only way we can win is to leave before the job is done.”
— George W. Bush

135. “My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions.”
— George W. Bush

136. “Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives, and lifts our national spirit. So let us continue the journey.”
— George W. Bush

137. “Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance and love have no end, and the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn.”
— George W. Bush

138. “May He guide us now. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.”
— George W. Bush

139. “Freedom is not our gift to the world it is God’s gift to humanity.”
— George W. Bush

140. “Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended.”
— George W. Bush

141. “Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September the 11th; malicious lies that attempt to shift the blame away from the terrorists, themselves, away from the guilty.”
— George W. Bush

142. “I call my philosophy and approach compassionate conservatism. It is compassionate to actively help our fellow citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on responsibility and results. And with this hopeful approach, we will make a real difference in people’s lives.”
— George W. Bush

143. “This is still a dangerous world. It’s a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses.”
— George W. Bush

144. “Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.”
— George W. Bush

145. “I understand small business growth. I was one.”
— George W. Bush

146. “Men are like bank accounts. Without a lot of money they don’t generate a lot of interest.”
— George W. Bush

147. “Nothing can be further than the truth.”
— George W. Bush

148. “More and more of our imports are coming from overseas.”
— George W. Bush

149. “I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake.”
— George W. Bush

150. “Mathematics are one of the fundamentaries of educationalizing our youth.”
— George W. Bush

151. “In the long run, the right answer to unemployment is to create more jobs.”
— George W. Bush

152. “I don’t think that witchcraft is a religion. I wish the military would rethink this decision.”
— George W. Bush

153. “I heard there’s rumors on the Internets that we’re going to have a draft.”
— George W. Bush

154. “I snorted coke in college, but I didn’t inhale!”
— George W. Bush

155. “When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.”
— George W. Bush

156. “So long as I’m the president, my measure of success is victory – and success.”
— George W. Bush

157. “The United States is a Christian nation founded upon Christian principles and beliefs.”
— George W. Bush

158. “This will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome except victory.”
— George W. Bush

159. “One of my proudest moments is I didn’t sell my soul for the sake of popularity.”
— George W. Bush

160. “America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right for life. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government, it comes from the creator of life.”
— George W. Bush

161. “Thanksgiving is a time for families and friends to gather together and express gratitude for all that we have been given, the freedoms we enjoy, and the loved ones who enrich our lives. We recognize that all of these blessings, and life itself, come not from the hand of man but from Almighty God.”
— George W. Bush

162. “As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured. – New York, Sept. 26, 2007.”
— George W. Bush

163. “What I really think is going to happen over time is technology is going to change the way we live for the good for the environment.”
— George W. Bush

164. “The only thing I know about Slovakia is what I learned first-hand from your foreign minister, who came to Texas.”
— George W. Bush

165. “I aim to be a competitive nation.”
— George W. Bush

166. “We really don’t need the United Nations approval to act. When it comes to our security, we do not need anyones permission.”
— George W. Bush

167. “The best way to fight evil is to do some good. Let me qualify that – the best way to fight evil at home is to do some good. The best way to fight them abroad is to unleash the military.”
— George W. Bush

168. “America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.”
— George W. Bush

169. “Before history is written down in books, it is written in courage.”
— George W. Bush

170. “See, one of the interesting things in the Oval Office – I love to bring people into the Oval Office – right around the corner from here – and say, this is where I office, but I want you to know the office is always bigger than the person.”
— George W. Bush

171. “He’s my man, he was great.”
— George W. Bush

172. “I think that if you don’t think we’re in a war that you can’t win the war.”
— George W. Bush

173. “Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.”
— George W. Bush

174. “I don’t read books, but I have friends who do.”
— George W. Bush

175. “We do not know how much our climate could or will change in the future. We do not know how fast change will occur or even how some of our actions could impact it.”
— George W. Bush

176. “Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right.”
— George W. Bush

177. “The Islam that we know is a faith devoted to the worship of one God, as revealed through The Holy Qur’an. It teaches the value and the importance of charity, mercy, and peace.”
— George W. Bush

178. “Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.”
— George W. Bush

179. “I fully understand some people don’t believe it’s possible for freedom and democracy to overcome this ideology of hatred. I understand that. I just happen to believe it is possible. And I believe it will happen.”
— George W. Bush

180. “By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America.”
— George W. Bush

181. “We have every reason to assume the worst.”
— George W. Bush

182. “Values matters well in a race.”
— George W. Bush

183. “I vowed to our countrymen that I would do everything I could to protect the American people. That’s why I said to Afghanistan: If you harbor a terrorist, you’re just as guilty as the terrorist.”
— George W. Bush

184. “America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.”
— George W. Bush

185. “The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th.”
— George W. Bush

186. “There is only one course of action against terrorists: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home.”
— George W. Bush

187. “Give me a chance to be your president and America will be safer and stronger and better.”
— George W. Bush

188. “If you raise taxes during a recession, you head to depression.”
— George W. Bush

189. “Recognizing and confronting our history is important. Transcending our history is essential. We are not limited by what we have done, or what we have left undone. We are limited only by what we are willing to do.”
— George W. Bush

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

191. “The regime must allow immediate and unrestricted access to every site, every document, and every person identified by inspectors. Iraq can be certain that the old game of cheat-and-retreat tolerated at other times will no longer be tolerated.”
— George W. Bush

192. “I expect you to work hard on our agenda.”
— George W. Bush

193. “We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.”
— George W. Bush

194. “I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other innocent lives.”
— George W. Bush

195. “I don’t think you should support the death penalty to seek revenge. I don’t think that’s right. I think the reason to support the death penalty is because it saves other people’s lives.”
— George W. Bush

196. “I’m a patient man. And when I say I’m a patient man, I mean I’m a patient man.”
— George W. Bush

197. “We will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth in defense of our great nation.”
— George W. Bush

198. “During my senior year I joined Skull and Bones, a secret society, so secret I can’t say anything more.”
— George W. Bush

199. “I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport.”
— George W. Bush

200. “Boston Mayor James Michael Curley once summarized the philosophy of many politicians as, “There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.”
— George W. Bush

201. “We will stay the course until the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We’re just going to stay the course.”

— George W. Bush