Hubert Humphrey Quotes

The Senate is a place filled with goodwill and good intentions, and if the road to hell is paved with them, then it's a pretty good detour.

We need a lot more respect in this country for compromise…. There is in compromise a lot of integrity, especially political integrity.

Campaigns often make standing on principle the highest of virtues - and listening to your opponents a sure sign of weakness. It's the virtual opposite of what it takes to succeed in office. Squaring the circle takes a powerful combination of skills. But presidents who can campaign and compromise are generally the most successful.

I think that people have to reward those individuals who are prepared to work across the political aisle. I don't see any other way; if you don't talk to people with whom you disagree, you're never going to solve problems.

As a member of Congress, I'm often reminded that in baseball, as in diplomacy, you have to know when to hit, when to run, and when to show grace.

There's no room for petty grievances in politics.

I'm going to work with Republicans when they do things I agree with and I'm going to fight Republicans when they're doing things that I think are damaging.

If you look through history, all of the great work we've done in Congress has been around a table of compromise, when it comes to the most difficult problems.

One thing I've learned - and I've said this to Republicans and Democrats - is, bees cannot sting and make honey at the same time. They have to make a choice. Either they are going to be a stinger or a honey-maker, and I contend that honey is a symbol of legislation and, the nuclear language used by members is the stinger, and you can't do both.

Goodness knows, we have horrible problems to face in this Congress. I hope we can face them as colleagues in working unitedly for the people of this country and certainly not indulging in animosity or referring to each other as ''enemies.''

Bipartisanship means you work together to work it out.

Strong men know when to compromise.

In a political struggle, never get personal—else the dagger digs too deep.

If you can’t learn to compromise an issue without compromising yourself then you better not be a legislator and you better not marry.

Compromise is the oil that makes government go.

To get Congress working again, I'm dedicated to working with anyone who has an open mind, good ideas, and a willingness to work together.

As a young lawyer, I learned to try to find common ground with people, to look for a human connection. When I got to the Senate, despite the fact that there were a lot of people who didn't want me to get there - and were sure they'd never even talk to me, let alone work with me - I really tried to do the job I was sent there to do by the people of New York, which was to get things done for my constituents. I worked with Republicans, and we found a lot of common ground. It isn't easy, but it's part of what we have to do in politics today.

Everybody in the world has to compromise. I don't know one person that gets everything they want, so the politicians are going to have to figure that out and stop pointing out, "He shook hands with a Democrat in 1989. He ate with a Republican last week." It's petty high school, even junior high stuff going on. It's junior high politics going on, so it's a shame.

Engagement is not appeasement. Engagement is not surrender.

We need a government, not politics. Because there's too much politics. Of course there should be debate. But there seems to be so much pettiness and not enough good faith. It is civilized to agree to disagree, and this idea is slowly disintegrating. The great statesmen of the past knew this, and I think it helps drive civilization.

It's necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises that are required to get the direct talks back on track.

We have to find compromises. That's the way it is in Norway.

We believe that we should come to an agreement with the Palestinians. But we need two to tango.

Sharon is capable of making peace.

The one thing I'm convinced George W. Bush is good at is bipartisanship. It's clearly something he enjoys personally.