Let me tell you, the heart of my tax proposal: I will not raise taxes on the American people. I will not raise taxes on middle-income Americans.

We will strengthen our security by building missile defense, restoring our military might, and standing by and strengthening our intelligence officers.

I like PBS. I love Big Bird ... But I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it.

I'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin.

I have never once regretted missing a business opportunity so that I could be with my children and grandchildren.

My wife drives a couple of Cadillacs.

I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners.

I am in favor of stem-cell research. I am not in favor of creating new human embryos through cloning.

Isn't it fitting that so many of those who have contempt for the private sector will soon find themselves back in it?

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.

I'm not familiar precisely with what I said, but I'll stand by what I said, whatever it was.

The color of the flower has faded, while I lost myself in idle thought in this long rain / 花の色は うつりにけりな いたづらに わが身世にふる ながめせし間に

Whoever is to be wise despises himself. Only the ignorant trust their own judgement.

I'm an optimist in my heart - I'm a hopeless pollyanna just like my mother - but a pessimist in my head. I think that's the dialectic we all need to be in.

The monsters in my head are scared of love.

The law I sign today directs new funds and new focus to the task of collecting vital intelligence on terrorist threats and on weapons of mass production.

I go down to Newport and Huntington a lot. It's more crowded than where I grew up on Phillip Island, but I think it's helped me adjust to life in America - getting into the water as much as I can.

I obviously irritate people. I obviously antagonise them.

Hate begets hate, violence engenders violence, hypocrisy is answered by hypocrisy, war generates war, and love creates love.

I will obviously take on board everything from my past, I always do.

You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces.