Fred Thompson Quotes

I feel bound to respect Ronald Reagan, as every American should - not least because he chose a career of public service when he could have made a lot more money doing something else, and not least because he took genuine risks for peace.

Jimmy Carter is the most intelligent. Jimmy Carter is a good man.

John Danforth, I thought, was a great senator and did a great job with the United Nations. I think he's a good man.

When you're out of office, you can be a statesman.

In the end, Ted Kennedy was a politician, plain and simple. Yet he embodied how politics and public service can be successfully intertwined. You can't be a good public servant without being a good politician. Kennedy was both.

I admire President Obama's class and measure.

A statesman is a politician who’s been dead ten or fifteen years.

While not all politicians are statesmen, all statesmen are politicians.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a great leader, possesses the highest possible character, and also happens to be a Browns fan.

In 'Profiles in Courage,' my grandfather, John F. Kennedy, praised leadership that put country above party, elevated principles over petty politics and promoted progress before personal interests.

I respected [Margaret Thatcher] enormously. She had great integrity in that respect.

Politics was put in front of me. I do politics because it's the vehicle for change and because I happen to be good at it... I had this sort of calm fearlessness, that some would call foolishness.

America is exceptional: but because it yields the likes of Obama, not the likes of Bush.

There are too many politicians in the world and too few statesmen.

I think that Richard Nixon is a great man and that he is very dedicated to what he does. I had the pleasure of meeting him when I attended the Republican National Convention in Miami. You can really tell that he is willing to go out of his way to help the American people.

I am who I am. In politics when you treat people well and they know you're honest, straight and sincere, I think it's an advantage. Just because somebody comes from a hard-boiled political culture doesn't make him a good U.S. senator.

The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.

A statesman wants courage and a statesman wants vision; but believe me, after six months' experience, he wants first, second, third and all the time - patience.

In politics there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those like John McCain who use their careers to promote change.

When I am speaking about American presidents, I have to speak about my very special relations with President Clinton. He contributed more to peace than anybody else in the American sense.

I love Winston Churchill; I think he had the grace of coming and the grace of leaving - when things were hard he was there, and when it was time to leave, he left.

My friends all say I'm going to be Secretary of State. But I don't see how that would be much different from the job I have now.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great sadness that I announce that I will resign as Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs. I am sad because I love this job. I'm totally dedicated to the work that we are doing in Australia's name around the world, and I believe that we have achieved many good results for Australia, and I'm proud of them.

A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years.

I admire personalities. Some politicians who are only great mice are just persons.