Gerald R. Ford Quotes

Washington isn't a city, it's an abstraction.

Washington has political power combined with the insider illusion of being in control.

Washington is like playing the Super Bowl, only there are no timeouts, no potty breaks, and the arena is filled with the media. In government, you have to learn to put yourself second in a big way. But I am a business person at heart. I like to be in charge.

Washington is a very easy city for you to forget where you came from and why you got there in the first place.

I think Barack Obama has brought a new level of ethical standards to Washington. Has he changed some basic hard-knuckle politics? No. You need hard-knuckle politics to succeed.

Nobody cares what any politician in Washington says.

I don't think we've asked the right questions, the tough questions, at the right time, in Washington.

Whenever people say, 'You should be president,' I say, 'I thought you liked me.' Listen, I thought being mayor of Stamford was a wonderful job. Being governor of a state for a period of time is a wonderful job, and I'm not sure I'm at all attracted to Washington.

The president said that he would unite this country, that he was a uniter, not a divider. Have you ever seen America more divided? Have you ever seen Washington more divided?

Ultimately, you change the culture in Washington only one way, and it's one election at a time, with the character of the people you send.

I don't think that Washington is a fundamentally bad or corrupt place.

The icons of the past relied on political instinct. Now Presidents can use scientific polls and focus groups.

Everyone in Congress represents Washington.

What is government itself but the great reflection of human nature.

Washington is a city of arrogance.

Towering over Presidents and State Governors, over Congress and State Legislatures, over conventions and the vast machinery of party, public opinion stands out in the United States, as the great source of Power.

Washington's got to loosen up a little bit—learn to laugh at itself a little.

The product of Washington is politics. Other places produce steel.

This town [Washington DC] can only operate successfully on myth.

Washington: A city obsessed with the present.

Washington thrives on scapegoats.

We have seen in Washington the worst kind of partisanship, the worst kind of gridlock. There is nothing wrong with our country. There is much wrong with our politics ….

It’s tough for Washington to pass complicated legislation.

… lobbyist-larded Washington

Ideology isn’t driving the dynamic in Washington, it’s the desire to stay in power.